'Light at the end of the tunnel' as Greater Manchester councils get £260m boost - but there's a catch

Greater Manchester's councils will be £260m better off next year - but they will have to raise council tax to get all the extra cash.

Town halls across the city-region are in store for a funding boost, as the government announces a £69bn package for local authorities across the country today (December 18). In Greater Manchester, councils will see their spending power increase by around £260m.

However, around £100m of that would come from an increase in council tax, according to the government's figures. The Manchester Evening News understands that the calculation assumes town halls will raise council tax by the maximum 5 per cent permitted.

The government's sums assumes Manchester council will raise an extra £19.2m in council tax next year, some of which would be raised from new homes built in the city. If the town hall raises council tax by the full 5 per cent, it would have £62.5m extra to spend in total.

This methodology was also used under the Conservative government. In recent years, Labour councils in Greater Manchester have said they were left with no choice but to increase council tax by the maximum amount because of the way funding was calculated.

But even without the council tax increase, the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester will be £160m better off next year. The M.E.N. understands that this is more of an increase than councils were expecting with Manchester council getting £20m more than expected.

It comes after Labour refused to commit to give councils more money while in opposition. Some councils will see no increase in their budgets next year, but no local authority will see their spending power go down, while some will see it rise by nearly 10 per cent.

Manchester council leader Bev Craig has