Residents across Greater Manchester will pay more Council Tax to support the county’s fire and rescue service – but only 78p a year for most people.

Members of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority (GMFRA) agreed a 1.99 per cent rise in their part of the Council Tax at a meeting  last week.

But the increase, which will be listed as the fire and rescue service ‘precept’ on household bills, equates to just 78p extra for the whole year on a Band A property and £1.17 extra for the year on a Band D home.

The Service is the second largest fire and rescue service in England, looking after around 2.7 million people across the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester.

It provides emergency response through 41 fire stations and an operational crew of around 1,300 uniformed officers working a 24/7 shift pattern on four watches.

Councillor David Acton, Chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, explained: “No one at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority made the decision to increase our part of Council Tax bills lightly but local people should be reassured these are miniscule amounts of money equating to less than £1 for the whole year for most people. That’s less than 2p a week extra.

“But collectively, the extra money means we can keep more firefighters on the front line, more fire engines ‘on the run’ and keep all our fire stations open providing vital emergency response for local people when they need us.

“The increase is tiny for local people but will make a huge difference to the service we can provide to local people.”

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