Burnham announces plans for mayoral tax freeze next year

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is proposing to freeze the part of council tax which pays for mayoral functions from April. 

If accepted, the proposal will mean, when residents get their council tax bills in March, the Mayoral Precept will remain at £70.73 for a Band B property - split between £51.48 for the fire service and £19.25 for other Mayoral-funded services (£90.95 for a Band D property, with the fire service accounting for £66.20 and £24.75 for non-fire).  

The Mayoral General Precept is part of the overall council tax paid by Greater Manchester residents and used to fund region-wide services for which the mayor is responsible. 

Mr Burnham (pictured) says the decision to freeze the precept for the 2021/22 financial year is intended to "relieve pressure" on residents struggling after the pandemic and facing wider increases in council tax bills "following the government’s failure to fund social care and other council services". 

However, the Labour mayor - who last year proposed cutting the number of fire engines available in order to save cash - says the freeze will not affect 'frontline fire cover' provided by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. 

He now says he's committed to running 50 fire engines throughout 2021/22, with crewing at the current level of five firefighters at one pump stations and four firefighters on each engine at two pump stations. 

The mayor's proposal also allows the continuation of his flagship A Bed Every Night scheme into the next financial year. 

Over the coming winter, at least 520 places will be provided across Greater Manchester to people who have been sleeping rough. Since it began in November 2018, A Bed Every Night has helped reduce the number of people sleeping rough from 268 at the peak to 115 at the latest count - a fall of 57 per cent. 

As part of the announcement, Mr Burnham said: "The Government’s failure to fund council services means council tax bills are likely to have to rise next year, particularly to fund social care and police. I do not want to give our residents an extra headache and that is why I am proposing to freeze the Mayoral precept.

“This has been a very difficult year for everyone in Greater Manchester.  Many people will have lost their jobs or had significantly reduced income and will be uncertain about their futures.  Now is not the time for me to be adding to their financial worries. 

“But we do need to continue to support our crucial services as we recover from the pandemic. Thanks to careful management of our budgets, we can maintain fire cover at current levels, extend our A Bed Every Night scheme into the next financial year and continue to support our young people.”