Service budgets for 2026/27
Including over £14.8m of value for money and service transformation measures.
Services in neighbourhoods: increase by £41.18m to £191.95m (18.3%)
- Looking after more than 150 parks, green spaces and communal landscapes enjoyed by 7.7m visitors.
- £16.5m support for the voluntary sector over 3 years
- Running 15 neighbourhood libraries, 6 community libraries, and one Central Library.
- 15 leisure centres and 8 sports facilities of regional and national significance.
- £500,000 more tackling antisocial behaviour and driving crime down further.
- Emptying 2.5 million bins a month.
- 28,000 bulky waste collections a year (we're one of the only councils not charging extra for this).
- £500,000 extra supporting the 40% of residents who rent privately.
- Maintaining 1,340 km of roads and 2,600 km of footways and 350 bridges and structures.
Including £1.160million value for money and transformation measures making streets and public spaces cleaner and tidier – with more street cleaning and waste collection.
There’s more for parks and libraries and for sports and leisure to keep us healthy. Extra funds will also go into homelessness, events and local improvements, roads, drainage and paths. There will be more play and youth work to bring young people life-changing experiences.
Children’s Services: increase by £29.231m to £212.45m (20.3%)
- Looking after 1,317 children in care and providing further support to 6,151 ‘children in need'.
- More than 18,000 free early years placements for children under 4.
- Residential care for 377 people with mental health needs and supported accommodation for 33.
- Extra child protection and more support for families in new family hubs.
- More specialist school support for pupils who need it.
Including £870,000 on more stable placements for children in care, cost-effective home-to-school transport, and social workers.
Adult Social Care: increase by £17.32m to £298.24m (28.6%)
- Homecare for 2,273 people getting 41,000 hours of care at home.
- Residential and nursing care for 739 older people.
- Residential care for 140 people with learning difficulties and supported accommodation for 531.
- 13,000 adaptations to keep people independent at home
Including £4million for care providers to pay the Real Living Wage, and meeting increasing complex demands. Value for money measures will bring more income from some users who can pay.
Public Health: increase by £10.36m to £60.33m (5.8%)
- 50,000 sexual health appointments.
- New Young People’s wellbeing service.
- Heart and mental health programmes for deprived areas.
Including more support for rough sleepers, and drug and alcohol services.
Growth and Development: increase by £1.223m to £10.78m (1%)
- Supporting 60 events and festivals across the city, throughout the year.
- 600,000 visitors a year to Manchester Art Gallery, boosting our tourism and cultural reputation.
- £400,000 supporting people into work and career development, boosting regeneration in new areas and efficiency savings.
- £1million employment support with health services keep more people in work and help others into jobs.
Corporate Services: £115.6m (11%)
- £1.7m more yearly to strengthen the safety net for those suffering financial shock
Including £2.289million to support people’s housing and living costs, technology advances, legal work climate change action and collecting council income. Value for money measures include more income from services and staff cost savings.
Other corporate costs: £156.4m (15%)
These are central costs needed to run the whole organisation. They include interest and debt repayment, insurance, emergency funds and reserves, and charges for waste disposal and transport.
Where the money comes from
These budgets come from four main sources:
- business rates (62.6%) £654.79m
- council tax (25.6%) £267.66m
- government and other funds (8.6%) £89.94m; and
- use of reserves (3.2%) £33.37m