{"id":675926,"date":"2026-01-05T18:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T18:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/675926\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T18:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T18:05:17","slug":"manchester-council-starts-2026-with-surprise-funding-boost-and-vows-to-rebuild-front-line-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/675926\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester council starts 2026 with surprise funding boost and vows to rebuild front-line services"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Advertisement –\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Manchester City Council starts 2026 with news it will receive 23pc MORE funding than first thought.<\/p>\n

The government has made huge changes to the grants councils receive, which means councillors have gone from closing a \u00a319m budget black hole to spending a \u00a314m surplus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officials have long argued Manchester was among the hardest hit by austerity from 2010 onwards, claiming the authority would have been \u00a360m better off every year if it was only hit with the \u2018average cut\u2019. But new government reforms mean, by 2027, Manchester will be better off than average \u2013 so town hall<\/a> bosses are now vowing to \u2018rebuild front-line services\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cMancs will begin to feel something that has been missing for a long time: Hope,\u201d Rabnawaz Akbar, executive councillor for finance, told the\u00a0Local Democracy Reporting Service\u00a0on Monday (January 5).<\/p>\n

\u201cClean and tidy neighbourhoods give people that pride in place and a feel-good factor. We have that extra money and we will look at improving the neighbourhood service to give people that hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut just because we have more money does not mean we will spend it without thinking about it. We will still deliver services in the most effective means, we will continue to invest in preventative measures in adults\u2019 and childrens\u2019 services.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understood extra cash could also be spent on gully cleaning, park maintenance, and a crackdown on rogue private landlords.<\/p>\n

Reforms to local government finance were key Labour pledges, and after giving councils a \u00a320m \u2018recovery grant\u2019 in the government\u2019s first year, ministers have laid out long-term plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They include \u2018multi-year settlements\u2019 for the first time in a decade, effectively confirming how much cash town halls will receive in three years\u2019 time. The overhaul also includes new formulas taking deprivation and population change into account, keeping the \u00a320m recovery grant, and factoring in business rates into forecasts.<\/p>\n

Read: For the first time in 10 years Mancunians are being asked what they want their council tax to be spent on<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, council tax will still rise<\/a> by nearly 5pc in April, the maximum allowed without a citywide referendum, it was confirmed last month. At the time, Coun Akbar defended it as a prudent move: \u201cIt\u2019s built into all the government assumptions that council tax will increase by 4.99pc. There are authorities, since 2016, which did not increase but maximum allowable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you do not raise it, you lose it forever. Last year, 30 councils asked the government for exceptional financial support \u2013 19 had not asked for the maximum allowable council tax from 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n

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