How much council tax you will have to pay in every borough of Greater Manchester from April
11.03.2023 - 12:13
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Councils have been setting their annual budgets over the last few weeks. This includes the difficult decision of whether to raise council tax and by how much.
The budget covers everything that a council does from care of the elderly and disabled people, social workers for vulnerable children and bin collections. But town halls are increasingly relying on raising council tax to balance the books.
This year, local authorities are allowed to raise council tax by up to 5 pc from April which is made up of a 2.99 pc increase plus an additional 2 pc ringfenced for adult social care only. Any rises higher than this requires a referendum – but none of the councils in the city-region decided to go down this route.
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All local authorities in Greater Manchester - whether they are controlled by Labour, Conservative or the Lib Dems - have agreed to increase council tax. Most have opted for the maximum 5 pc increase allowed by the government.
However, councillors in Bolton, Oldham and Stockport limited their council tax increase to 4 pc. In addition to the rate set by town halls, the final council tax bill will include charges which apply to all Greater Manchester households.
Mayor Andy Burnham proposes these precepts which pay for the police, the fire service and other initiatives including free bus passes for 16 to 18-year-olds and emergency accommodation for rough sleepers. Next year, the police precept will increase by nearly 5 pc with Band D properties paying £15 more.
The part of the council tax bill that goes towards the fire service will also increase by 7 pc. However, the general mayoral precept has been