This is how much council tax is going up this year among our Greater Manchester neighbours

Every local authority in Greater Manchester is preparing to raise council tax bills from April to keep services running despite the financial impact of Covid-19.

The budgets of town halls across the city-region have been hit hard by the pandemic, with some councils having to plug huge gaps in their finances.

While the government has paid out millions of pounds in emergency funding to councils, their leaders say the money does not go far enough.

The government has also allowed local authorities to increase council tax by 4.99 per cent, including a 3 per cent top up of adult social care budgets.

But many leaders, some of whom are begrudgingly agreeing to the maximum uplift, see council tax as a ‘regressive’ way of funding local services.

On top of local tax bills, residents will also need to pay their share towards the mayoral precept which covers the mayoral functions of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

The mayoral precept, which funds the fire service, rough sleeping accommodation and free bus passes for young people, will be frozen at last year’s rates.

This means Band B and Band D properties will pay £70.73 and £90.95 for the year respectively from April 1. 

Meanwhile, the police precept, which is separate to both council tax and the mayoral precept, will rise by £10 to an annual payment of £208.30 for a Band D property.

In Oldham, some taxpayers could see their council tax bills rise by at least £30 a year.

People living in Band A properties will have to pay an extra £2.78 a month.

Bosses say the rise, which forms part of measures to plug a £27.6m shortall in the council’s coffers, is the lowest in Greater Manchester.

Here is a breakdown of how other nearby council tax bills will change in the coming year, not including the mayoral and police precepts.

Manchester

Councillors have not yet signed off on raising council tax by 4.99 per cent in Manchester as it forms part of the budget which was due to be signed off yesterday (Friday).

Under the proposals bills would raise £8.5m and prevent cuts to frontline services like adult social care.

The annual bill for Band D properties will go up by £71.13 to £1,425.46.

Around £41m will be cut from the town hall’s budget, down from a huge £103m shortfall originally predicted by bosses last year.

Salford

The neighbouring authority of Salford will increase council tax by 3.99 per cent as part of its ‘no cuts budget’ which was approved last month,

For Band A properties, the most common property banding in the city, the annual council tax bill will rise by £50.30, taking the total to £1,343.29.

Conservative councillors had called for a ‘freeze’ on council tax saying it would spend £4.5m of its reserves as a ‘one-off’ instead of ‘hitting people’s pockets’.

Tameside

Council tax in Tameside will increase by the maximum 4.99pc which will see residents’ bills rise by at least £50.

Officers say that increasing council tax by 1.99pc, and the precept for adult social care by 3pc, will raise nearly £5m for the town hall.

For a typical band A property this increase in council tax will equate to an extra £50.83 per year, or 98p a week.

Rochdale

Plans to raise council tax in Rochdale by the maximum 4.99 per cent were signed off by councillors this week.

Opposition councillors had tried to force a freeze on council tax – something which had been mooted by leader of the Labour-led council Councillor Alan Brett last summer.

For Band D properties their council tax will go up by £82.10 for the year, bringing the annual bill to £1,727.37.

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