Sadiq Khan has been given the green light by ministers to continue to use council tax to bail out Transport for London.
In a statement, issued by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, the government has agreed to allow London’s Mayor to add an additional £20 to benchmark Band D council tax bills from next April to help TfL balance its day-to-day budget.
Mr Khan had announced last year that he planned to add a £20 a year levy to average council tax bills for three years to provide extra funding to TfL, which has seen its fares income collapse due to the pandemic.
This would be the second of three annual TfL hikes. TfL is facing a shortfall in income because almost one in four Tube weekday Tube passengers are yet to return to regular travel.