Greater Manchester has just launched the UK’s first region-wide network of ‘Baby Banks’.
The new Baby Banks network will bring together community-led support to help families facing financial hardship and crisis.
If you’re unfamiliar with what baby banks are, they provide a crucial service to families who may be facing difficulties financially across our region by providing essential items for babies and young children, such as baby clothes and nappies, as well as providing support and advice for parents as they navigate difficult times.
According to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), almost 30% of children under five in Greater Manchester are currently growing up in poverty.
Now, for the first time ever, Greater Manchester’s 10 baby banks are being brought together as one network thanks to new funding from GMCA in partnership with local family support charity, Home-Start HOST.
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Holding baby’s hand / Credit: Aditya Romansa (via Unsplash)
As a co-ordinated group, baby banks can now join up their resources, raise awareness of their services, and ultimately increase their capacity to reach more parents in need of support.
GMCA is also asking local residents and businesses to help support the good work of baby banks by volunteering their time, helping sort donations, preparing packs, or providing practical support to families in need. Additionally, businesses can support through corporate donations towards essential baby items or services.
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“We have been clear in Greater Manchester – we want all children and young people here to thrive,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham. “Sadly, we know that some families do face hardship and need help, and that the services they turn to can often feel remote.
“But our communities do come together to help others and can often provide solutions, [and] that’s why we are redefining how to put meaningful, everyday support back at the heart of every neighbourhood, and our new baby bank network is fantastic example of that approach.
“It’s crucial that our voluntary sector has the resources it needs to continue what it does so well.
“I urge people and businesses to support our baby banks so that they can continue to support families in crisis, because every baby deserves the chance to thrive.”
Featured Image – Mark Pilgrim (via Flickr)
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Entertainment union Equity makes £1 bid for Manchester Pride to protect workers from ‘further exploitation’
Emily Sergeant
Performing arts and entertainment trade union Equity has made a £1 bid for Manchester Pride.
You may remember that, back in October last year, Manchester Pride – the charity / organisation that ran the Manchester Pride Festival – entered into voluntary liquidation, and news emerged last week that the assets were being sold off to the highest bidder by liquidators.
By offering a ‘symbolic’ £1 for the assets – which include the Manchester Pride brand name and associated domain names – Equity says its bid has been made to give workers the opportunity to ‘decide the future’ of the event.
The bid is also said to have been made to prevent a repeat of 2025 – which apparently left Equity union members more than £70,000 out-of-pocket in unpaid fees.
Equity’s variety organiser, Nick Keegan, warned that selling the Manchester Pride brand to a commercial buyer risks ‘undermining the values’ of the event and the community that built it.
He worried it could also leave performers and workers ‘vulnerable to further exploitation’.
“Manchester Pride is not just a city-wide party,” Mr Keegan explained. “Its roots in protest are as important today as then.”
He added: “Manchester Pride was built by the LGBTQ+ workers of Canal St and beyond who provide a space and a community for LGBTQ+ people all year round. The event should not be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold off to the highest bidder.
“The cultural workforce are at the heart of Pride, without them, there is no festival.
“After what happened in 2025, with members left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket, we don’t want to see history repeat itself.”
Equity says that if its bid is successful, the workers will have control over who the ‘asset’ goes to.
“Our bid is about protecting Pride as a community asset, not a commercial one,” the union’s statement continued.
“Allowing the people whose labour was used to build this ‘asset’ to decide how the trademark of Manchester Pride is used in the future will help protect them from further exploitation, as well as preserve the values and the longevity of the event itself.”
Featured Image – Manchester Pride (Supplied)
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New police hub to be set up in Piccadilly Gardens to help reduce anti-social behaviour
Emily Sergeant
A new police hub is set to be established in Piccadilly Gardens.
In case you missed it, it was announced last week that council tax in Greater Manchester could be increased to help fund improvements to policing, and that a consultation on it has been launched – with local residents urged to have their say.
The police precept helps Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to build on a range of improvements, including the speed of answering 999 and 101 calls, road and transport safety across Manchester city centre, and bringing more sex offenders to justice, among many other things.
Greater Manchester council tax is set to be increased again to help fund improvements to policing, and a consultation is now live. 🏘️🚔📝
But on top of this, Mayor Andy Burnham has also pledged to deliver a new police hub in Piccadilly Gardens as part of a wider drive to improve policing.
GMCA says its ‘top priority’ is to build strong communities where people feel safe, and it is Mayor Andy Burnham and his Deputy Mayors’ responsibility to enable GMP to be an ‘effective and efficient’ police force.
Local leaders say their ambition for 2026 is to maintain a ‘high-performing’ police service by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, and protecting residents and businesses along the way – and part of this ambition is to increase police visibility in Piccadilly Gardens, which is a much-maligned part of the city centre, by launching a new ‘prominent’ police hub.
The increase in the police precept is also being touted to help increase ‘hot spot policing tactics’ in town centres and other key locations to help drive down theft and other violent retail crimes.
A new police hub is to be set up in Piccadilly Gardens to help reduce anti-social behaviour / Credit: Gerald England (via Geograph) | Rawpixel
“We need GMP to be properly funded if it is to continue to deliver an effective and responsive service for people in Greater Manchester,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham. “The cost of running a modern police force is going up and this is at a time when our city region has become the fastest-growing economy in the UK, with visitor numbers increasing year after year.
“So much is happening here and that includes a number of major and complex incidents over the past year, including a terrorist attack. These incidents added significant pressure to police resources.
“We recognise the ongoing impact of the rising cost of living and do not take the decision to increase the precept lightly. But right now, this increase is our only option to ensure GMP can continue delivering an effective police service that ensures that people feel safe in their own communities.”
Emily Sergeant -
5th December 2025 
