Livingstone plans £63-a-year council tax rise to fund more police and buses

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, wants to put up average council tax bills in the capital by £63 a year, a rise of 36 per cent, to fund more police and better buses.

The higher-than-expected figure, when taken with recent government funding announcements, could push bills for many homeowners across the city to more than £1,000 for the first time.

Mr Livingstone said that his budget proposals centred on creating 1,200 more police officer posts, taking the total number in the Metropolitan Police to 30,000 by March 2004. The Mayor said he may have to increase bills even further to make up for cuts in Whitehall funding for the London Fire Brigade announced by ministers.

Both the Tories and Labour attacked the planned hike in the so-called "precept", the part of council tax which pays for the Greater London Authority's functions. The Conservatives pointed out that if the rise went ahead, Mr Livingstone would have put up the precept by 92 per cent, or £113, in just three years of office – even higher than the 51 per cent rise in bills under Mr Livingstone's GLC years from 1982 to 1985, they said. In 2000-2001, before the creation of the GLA, the precept set by the fire and police authorities for band D homes in London was £122. Mr Livingstone raised this to £150 in 2001-2002 (a 22 per cent rise), and to £178 in 2002-2003 (a 15 per cent rise). His latest proposed budget would push the figure to £236.

Mr Livingstone's budget includes an assumption that the congestion charge will raise at least £120m in its first year. He said: "Given the scale of service improvements delivered by my budget, and especially the large increase in police numbers and further major bus and transport improvements, I believe that Londoners will be willing to pay the extra £1.20 a week in a typical (band D) property".