Greater Manchester’s communities are set to benefit from extra police officers after Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd’s 10p plan to protect police was backed by council leaders.
The rise in the policing element of the council tax comes following years of Government-imposed cuts that have seen £180m slashed from GMP’s budget and 2,000 police officers disappear from the streets of Greater Manchester.
Tony said: “While the Government is beginning to listen and recognise they have gone too far we still need to find more than £70m in savings. This is in the face of £180m already cut from GMP, rising crime, and with officers increasingly dealing with complex issues such as child sexual exploitation and cyber crime. Even though the government has pledged not to cut police budgets further, their complex calculations are based on local people paying more. So if I don’t increase the council tax we will have to cut more from frontline policing.
“Local people want, and deserve, a strong and sustainable police service keeping them and their homes safe. I’m glad that council leaders and the community are supporting me in this decision. The increase –just an extra 10p a week – will raise an additional £3.5m, which is the equivalent to 70 police officers.
“I’d like to thank all those who took the time to respond to the consultation and, whether you agreed or not, all your comments have been considered. I’m happy to say that the vast majority of people who had their say agree that this is the right thing to do.”
