Manchester City Council

This welcome news does not mean any services will be cut - the tax freeze is possible because of the city's prudent financial management combined with a major drive to save money and identify efficiencies.

In fact, over the coming year Manchester residents will see significant improvements with the introduction of exciting new services.

Councillor Bernard Priest, the council's executive member for finance, said: "Over the past few years we have kept council tax increases low and it is great news for residents that this year we will freeze council tax.

"We recognise it has been a very difficult year for some people and as the UK comes out of recession it is critical we offer all the support we can to Manchester residents.

"We will face some tough challenges over the coming years, but we are absolutely determined to ensure that none of the essential services we provide, such as children's education, environmental services and housing, will suffer. Indeed we are increasing our highways budget to further improve services and future winter maintenance."

"We will never change our commitment to provide top quality, value for money services for all residents. But we will have to ensure that the money we have to spend goes further."

Over the past four years the council has made efficiency savings of more than £55m. That has helped to keep council tax low and inject investment into the most important services. We are committing to deliver further major savings in the coming years.

The council is investing a massive amount of money on future projects including new homes, Building Schools for the Future and academies, and the £24m indoor BMX arena.

Councillor Priest said: "We will be spreading our money further by streamlining the way we operate, improving the technology we use and finding more flexible ways of working to improve services and save money.

"Put simply, we want to make the most of every pound we spend and ensure that we deliver better for less."

Over the coming financial year, the council is introducing the following changes to improve services and save money:

• One number
  We are introducing a new single phone number to contact the council and access all our services.
• One visit
  We are opening a new customer service centre in the city centre - a one stop shop where residents can inquire about a whole range of services in one visit, including benefits, payments, planning and licensing. There will also be self-service facilities for a variety of our other services.
• One click
  The council's website is undergoing a major transformation to make it more user-friendly.

We will also be offering better access to our services in the evenings and weekends.

Councillor Priest added: "We recognise that the council's money is really your money and we want to ensure that we provide the best possible services, in the most efficient and cost-effective way."

Note
Although the council's element of your council tax bill is frozen, there may be increases in the smaller police and fire precepts.

Our spending priorities for the coming year

The City Council recently asked residents from across the city about the budget plans and priorities.

We have spoken to hundreds of people and out of the 995 responses, 85.6% told us that our priorities for spending money on delivering local services are correct.

Your responses helped us ensure that we are doing the right thing with your cash, to ensure we are providing the best possible services.

Of course, we will continue to deliver the day to day services that matter, and which you have raised with us as being important. These include refuse collection, clean streets, employment opportunities, education - including apprenticeships - tackling antisocial behaviour,  and essential services like children's social care and housing. We also recognise the importance of issues such as potholes and activities for young people. There was some concern expressed regarding cuts of frontline public services but we are committed to ensuring that none of the essential frontline services will suffer.

At the same time we will focus on key priorities that help shape the future of Manchester and ensure we continue to grow as a city.  

Our budget priorities for 2010/11 are outlined below:

Skills and worklessness

As part of our commitment to making sure that our services focus on the needs of local neighbourhoods, we're working with local employers to find ways of creating flexible employment opportunities for people who live in deprived areas. We're also targeting people who are not actively seeking work to make sure they make the most of the jobs and training facilities that are available.

We're encouraging organisations to help people into work by introducing apprenticeships, as well as running our own apprenticeship scheme for Manchester residents who are not working, looked after children and young people aged 14-19 and giving them the support they need to prepare themselves for working life.

Climate change

The original modern city, Manchester has plans to revive its international status, this time as one of the world's greenest cities. Saving carbon also saves cash.  With the help of nearly 100 interested organisations we have put together an ambitious plan to tackle climate change, which includes measures like:

• Greener housing
  By making Manchester homes more energy efficient we can save more than 350,000 tonnes of carbon every year by the end of 2020, as well as cut residents' fuel bills and create new jobs.
• Getting smart
  Smart meters, an easy way of keeping an eye on how much energy you use, will be fitted in every home in the UK by 2020. We have plans underway to establish the first smart metering business district in the Northern Quarter.

Manchester City Council has also pledged to reduce its energy consumption by 10% in 2010.  Not only is this better for the environment but it also reduces our bills.  Please join in our 10:10 campaign and do your bit to reduce energy consumption and support Manchester's ambitions to be a greener city.