Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best’ in the UK
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best police forces in the country’.
Residents across Greater Manchester are being urged to have their say on proposals to increase the police precept that forms part of their council tax bill.
In case you weren’t familiar, three quarters of police funding comes from a central Government grant, but the remaining quarter comes from Greater Manchester Combined Authority‘s (GMCA) police precept, all of which helps enable Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to build on a range of improvements delivered over the last few years.
Funding helps GMP to further improve the speed of answering 999 and 101 calls, reduce and prevent neighbourhood crimes and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), improve road and transport safety across Manchester city centre, and bring more sex offenders to justice, among many other things.
Have your say on how we fund GMP’s vital services.
Your input helps us retain neighbourhood policing and keep Greater Manchester safe.
Together, we can ensure we are delivering the commitments that matter most to you.
🗳️ Have your say: https://t.co/Kx66ZqAqGO pic.twitter.com/Dl4z0AcfGs— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) January 7, 2025
According to GMCA, these are some of the things that people in the region said were “important to them” following “extensive engagement and consultation” with communities.
The proposed increase to the residents’ council tax bills would be £14 a year for a ‘Band D’ property (£1.17 a month), which equates to £10.89 per year (91 pence a month) for an average ‘Band B’ property – with the majority of properties in Greater Manchester falling within Bands A and B.
Addressing the potential increase, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We set out a number of commitments last year on what Greater Manchester Police would deliver with the precept, and they delivered on every one of them.
GMP are now answering 999 calls in record time, attending incidents sooner and investing in neighbourhood policing and crime prevention teams [and] as a result, we’ve seen crime reduce across the board, with the most marked improvement in neighbourhood crime which has reduced by 17% in the past year.”
He continued: “I know that times are tough for our residents, but investment through the precept is vital to maintain this improvement.
Read more:
- Keir Starmer says Labour will freeze’ council tax if elected
- Andy Burnham declares 2025 as Manchester’s year for ‘restoring local control’
- Greater Manchester residents urged to ‘switch to the Bee Network’ in 2025
“Your money really does make a difference.”
The Greater Manchester public can respond to the police precept consultation online at www.gmconsult.org by 17 January 2025.
Featured Image – GMP