More funding for further improvements to GMP approved

The Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel has agreed to the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s proposal to increase the police precept for 2023/24 to fund further improvements to policing by £1.25 per month for a Band D property or 83 pence per month for a Band A property – the largest proportion of properties in Greater Manchester  (44.7 percent) are in Band A.

The majority (73 percent) of people who responded to the public consultation on the police precept supported the proposals to prioritise providing Neighbourhood Crime Teams, sustaining and improving call handling times and strengthening investigative capacity and capability.

The Panel is made up of elected representatives from across all ten of Greater Manchester’s councils as well as independent members, chaired by Councillor Janet Emsley. The Panel’s role is to scrutinise the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor who have Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities which includes setting the police precept – the police element of council tax.

The precept increase, along with the central government policing grant, will fund:

• The establishment of dedicated Neighbourhood Crime Teams in each district to more effectively and proactively tackle the issues that residents said are important to them including burglary, robbery, and vehicle crime.
• The workforce level required to ensure that the significant improvements in 999 and 101 waiting times are maintained and further improved, particularly in respect of 101.
• Increased capacity and capability of crime scene investigators and digital investigators strengthening opportunities to detect neighbourhood crime and sex offending, including such offences against children.
• Increased numbers of investigators who conduct initial investigations when a crime is first reported, to ensure more timely and effective investigations into offences that have a big impact on our communities like criminal damage and hate crime.

The current police precept for a Band D property is £228.30 which will increase to £243.30 in the coming financial year and a Band A property will go up from £152.20 to £162.20.

Even with the increase, the Greater Manchester police precept will remain one of the lowest in the country.

Over the current financial year, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester have continued to see improvements in GMP performance, including coming out of special measures. 999 call answering time are now the fastest they have been for over 2 years, police officers have attended 94 percent of all burglaries - increasing from 74 percent the previous year, while arrests have more than doubled.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “I haven’t taken the decision to increase to the police precept lightly. Budget pressures caused by record high inflation but without an increase in the government police grant to mitigate it, means GMP needs this additional funding to avoid cuts to vital services.

“I know that many of our residents are struggling with the cost of living crisis but they have also told us they want to see more police in their neighbourhoods, be more responsive to incidents and arrest more people. It is these measures that will help keep our streets safe.

“I would like to thank the Police, Crime and Fire Panel for unanimously backing my proposal which will see GMP continue on their improvement journey and create a force we can all have confidence in.”

Chair of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel, Janet Emsley, said: “The Panel agreed to endorse the Mayor’s proposal to increase the police precept because we recognise residents want to feel safe in their homes, at work and out and about, and we need to support GMP by ensuring they have the funding to do this.”

Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire, Kate Green, added: “I would also like to thank the Police, Crime and Fire Panel for supporting the increase to the police precept. No one wants to add to the financial burden of our residents but the Mayor and I have a responsibility to keep people safe and it is crucial we continue to invest in the frontline services needed to tackle crime.

“For anyone struggling with their bills there is information on our Helping Hand website.”

Article Published: 26/01/2023 19:07 PM