On your bill this will appear at the "Mayoral General Precept". The vast majority of this goes to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. The service is funded partly by grants from central Government and partly by council tax paid by the residents of Greater Manchester. It remains one of the lowest-cost and highest performing emergency services in the UK.
Over the course of the year, for the average Band B property, the fire proportion of the precept is £46.62. To give an idea of how your money is spent, for the period 1st April 2018 to December 2018, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service:
In addition to funding the fire service, part of this precept also goes to fund the mayor, and the functions he is responsible for. Over the course of the year, this is less than £6.30 for the average Band B bill. This mayoral precept funds:
In addition, this year the mayoral precept will increase in order to fund bus reform, including the introduction of a new Opportunity Pass for 16 to 18-year-olds. Read about this here.
Here is what the new mayoral precept will be for each council tax band:
|
|
A |
B (GM average) |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
|
Total proposed costs for Band – fire and other mayoral costs |
£51.29 |
£59.84 |
£68.39 |
£76.95 |
£94.05 |
£111.15 |
£128.24 |
£153.90 |
|
Proposed increase to support bus reform |
£6 |
£7 |
£8 |
£9 |
£11 |
£13 |
£15 |
£18 |
|
Percentage of households in each band |
46% |
19.5% |
17.3% |
9.1% |
4.7% |
2% |
1.2% |
0.2% |
These tables give a detailed breakdown of these costs:
|
Comparison of Expenditure and Income for 2018/19 and 2019/20 |
||
|
|
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
|
|
£’000s |
£’000s |
|
Gross Expenditure |
|
|
|
Employees |
79,031 |
84,899 |
|
Other |
74,048 |
49,343 |
|
Total |
153,079 |
134,242 |
|
Less Income |
(6,621) |
(1,806) |
|
Less Government Grant |
(40,075) |
(14,859) |
|
Total |
106,383 |
117,577 |
|
Capital Financing Charges |
13,024 |
7,207 |
|
Less Interest Received |
(30) |
- |
|
Total |
119,377 |
124,784 |
|
Contribution from Balances |
(16,559) |
(9,195) |
|
Budget Requirement |
102,818 |
115,589 |
|
Revenue Support Grant |
(19,938) |
- |
|
Baseline Funding |
(20,900) |
(39,600) |
|
Localised Business Rates |
(10,165) |
(10,311) |
|
S31 Grant - Business Rates |
(925) |
(1,366) |
|
S31 Grant - Pensions |
- |
(4,803) |
|
Collection Fund Surplus (-)/ Deficit (+) |
(975) |
(1,781) |
|
Council Tax Requirement |
49,915 |
57,728 |
|
Why the Budget Requirement Has Increased |
|
|
2019-20 |
|
|
£'000 |
|
|
Mayoral Precept |
7,813 |
|
Inflation |
6,969 |
|
Efficiencies |
(1,978) |
|
Cost Pressures and Variations |
(1,610) |
|
Change in Capital Financing |
(5,817) |
|
Change in Interest on Balances |
30 |
|
Change in Use of Balances |
7,364 |
|
Total increase in Budget Requirement |
12,771 |
|
Increase in Funding |
(4,958) |
|
Total Increase in Council Tax Requirement |
7,813 |
|
Mayoral expenditure breakdown 2019/20 |
Cost £’000 |
|
Direct Mayoral and Support Costs |
820 |
|
Spatial Development Strategy |
800 |
|
Cost of Administering Grants to Bus Operators |
50 |
|
Transport, Policy and Strategy |
3,900 |
|
Bus Services Operators Grant Payments |
13,100 |
|
Mayoral Priorities |
416 |
|
Bus Reform – TfGM |
1,000 |
|
Grant to Districts – Bus Reform & 16-18 Travel Concessions |
8,300 |
|
TOTAL |
28,386 |
A significant source of funding for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority comes from grant income, with over £100 million anticipated within 2019/20 to deliver various programmes such as Adult Education, Work and Health programmes and Homelessness Initiatives. In addition to grant funded activity the Authority receives funding from local district contributions and retained business rates revenues as part of the 100% retained business rate pilot.