Greater Manchester Leaders approve new budget for year ahead

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has had its budget approved for the coming financial year to fund further improvements to public services across the city-region.

The leaders of the 10 boroughs and Mayor of Greater Manchester passed the budgets for 2025-26 during a meeting of GMCA on 7th February. The budget includes increases to Mayoral and Fire precepts equivalent to 31p per week for a Band D property.

Increases to precepts will support additional funding for public services in the city-region, including:

• Increasing the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service fleet with a 52^nd fire engine, and increasing the number of firefighters to crew it 
• Funding the final delivery of the bus reform programme, including the potential for more buses and new routes 
• Commitments to improve road and transport safety, including the launch of a new TravelSafe Live Chat system for reporting safety concerns on the Bee Network, and the expansion of the international award-winning Operation Vulcan

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“We know these are still challenging times for residents and businesses across Greater Manchester. That’s why we’ve worked hard to make every pound count, and to drive the improvements to our public services that make a real difference to people here. 

“We’re building a game-changing integrated public transport network, we have one of the best performing fire and rescue services in the country, and Greater Manchester Police is one of most improved forces in the country.  

“These funding proposals will enable us to keep the £2 cap on single bus fares for the whole of 2025, giving residents using the Bee Network the ability to more than recover the proposed increase many times over. 

“Everyone has a stake in these services, and it’s our priority to ensure they keep delivering for people in Greater Manchester.”