Greater Manchester council tax rise to pay for 320 police officers

The force has seen a 25% cut in the number of staff since 2010

Council tax is to rise in Greater Manchester to pay for 320 new police officers.

The increase, which will raise an extra £18m annually, will fund neighbourhood roles and a team to work on the area's transport network.

Greater Manchester Police's Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said he was "very grateful" as the force had "really been struggling" after years of cuts.

Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes said the move would help "keep our communities safe".

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Combined Authority said the exact rise for each property band had yet to be confirmed, but an increase of £24 a year for homes in Band D had been backed in a public consultation.

The additional funding will be used for:

• 170 neighbourhood officers to support vulnerable communities

• 50 officers working to tackle local problems

• 50 officers working across the transport network

• 50 detectives working on complex investigations

It will see the total number of officers increase to 6,570, which Mr Hopkins said was "still some way from the 8,219 officers the force had in 2010 [but] moves us some way towards the 7,000 officers I believe we need to police Greater Manchester".

He said he understood the "stretch" paying the extra money would be "for many people", but added that the force was "working hard to transform the way we deliver policing, and this will continue".

The deputy mayor said raising council tax had been "a difficult decision to make" but "we have been left with very little choice to ask residents to pay a little more to ensure we can keep our communities safe".