Manchester City Council approves £59m of budget cuts

Manchester City Council said the budget was based on a council tax freeze

Manchester City Council has frozen council tax while approving £59m cuts which will result in the loss of about 600 jobs.

About £30 million will be cut from adult social care, while other savings including reductions in advice services will be made in 2015-16.

The government is giving a 1% grant to all councils that freeze council tax.

The council will offset the savings with £9m from a share of its stake in Manchester Airport.

'Difficult decisions'

It holds a 35.5% share in the airport, which has recorded a rise in passenger numbers, commercial revenues and profits.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "This budget, like other recent budgets, has been an exercise in making the best of a bad situation.

"We have had to make some difficult decisions but are striving to balance investing in the future and supporting the most vulnerable in our city with making the spending reductions which have been forced upon us."