Like households and other public services, policing continues to face financial pressures due to the cost of living and providing essential services.
Police funding comes from an annual central government grant and what Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) can raise locally from the police precept part of council tax. In Greater Manchester, the government grant represents 74% of funding for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), and the police precept GMCA sets makes up 26%. GMP precept in Greater Manchester is one of the lowest in the country.
This year, the central government grant is due to increase by 2.6% from the previous year (to £666 million).
This is the second lowest increase of any police force in the country and compares to a national average increase of 3.2% and increases of 4% in London, 4.2% in Kent and 3.6% in Merseyside.
It also comes in the context of the serious and critical incidents and their associated costs here being higher than in most other areas of the country. The Metropolitan Police Service in London receives an additional Capital Cities Grant to help them meet their higher costs from this; Greater Manchester does not receive this.
It is GMCA’s responsibility to maintain an effective, efficient police force for Greater Manchester. The service’s frontline is growing to address significant growth in demand and increased complexity of crime. By March 2026 Greater Manchester Police will have at least 8,271 officers, including an additional 120 officers under the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
To maintain the investment required for policing to protect the public, GMCA need to increase the police precept by £11.66 per year (£0.97 a month) for a Band B property (80% of households in Greater Manchester are in Bands A-C). For a Band D property, the increase would be £15 per year (£1.25 a month).
To give residents an opportunity to have a say on the proposed police precept increase and the future priorities for policing in Greater Manchester the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) precept public consultation has launched
Complete the Police Funding 2026/2027 – Greater Manchester Combined Authority – Citizen Space here