Mayor announces cut to council tax precept

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has announced that he will cut the proposed Mayoral precept by £1 for Band D properties.  This means that the precept for the average Greater Manchester household, in Band B, would fall from £7 to less than £6.30.  

After an assessment of the finalised tax base figures from Greater Manchester’s local authorities and reassessing reserves in the Fire and Rescue Service budget, the Mayor has been able to reduce the Mayoral general precept that will be part of each household’s Council Tax bill.

The funds raised will support the Mayor as he works across Greater Manchester meet the challenges of tackling congestion, rough-sleeping and the major rewrite of a homes and jobs plan to reduce the amount of green space taken for development.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “I’ve been clear throughout this process that, along with Greater Manchester’s 10 Leaders, we will do everything we can to keep residents’ Council Tax bills as low as possible while protecting essential services.  That is why, after receiving the final tax base figures from districts and reassessing reserves in the Fire and Rescue Service budget, we have been able to cut the proposed Mayoral precept.

“I recognise that it is a big ask for people to pay anything more, especially in these difficult times.  I hope that today’s decision shows that we have done everything we can do keep bills as low as possible but also achieve our vision to make Greater Manchester one of the best places in the world.”

In the past nine months, Greater Manchester has secured more than £250 million of extra funding from the Government. This money has only been offered to Greater Manchester because it is a Mayoral Combined Authority. Areas without one, like West Yorkshire and the East Midlands, have missed out.

This additional money includes:

•             £243m Transforming Cities Fund

•             £3.8m homelessness trailblazer funding

•             £1.8m Social Impact Bond to help those homeless people most in need

•             £2m from the Mayoral Capacity Fund

That means that for the less than a £6.30 charge per household, the Mayor, working with our Combined Authority council leaders, have brought in additional funding worth £208 per Greater Manchester household.

Since being elected, Andy has:

• Introduced half-price tickets for 16-18-year-olds on the tram and bus network

• Led Greater Manchester’s response to the Arena attack and ensured the Government met our costs in full

• Secured more than £5m central Government funding to tackle rough sleeping, and has brought together public, private and voluntary organisations in a unique partnership to provide housing and support for those people sleeping rough on our streets

• Secured £243m from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund, which will be used to improve cycling and other transport infrastructure in Greater Manchester

• Brought together digital leaders to drive forward the ambition to make Greater Manchester one of Europe’s leading tech centres

• Begun the process of a major rewrite of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, involving people from across Greater Manchester

• Appointed Chris Boardman as Cycling and Walking Commissioner, leading to a bold plan to transform Greater Manchester’s cycle and walkways

• Signed a new agreement with the community and voluntary sector to help maximise their role in delivering our vision for Greater Manchester.

The initial Mayoral precept proposals were discussed and agreed in principle at January's meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, ahead of the final budget-setting meeting on 20 February. At the January meeting, GMCA also approved its transport and general budgets.  You can read the reports here and the news release here.