The freeze on Mayoral Council Tax Precept, Mersey Tunnel Tolls and Transport Levy has been agreed

The decision to freeze the precept is intended to avoid putting extra short-term financial pressure on residents who are struggling due to the Covid pandemic. 95% of households in the City Region will continue to pay no more than 32 pence a week.

The Transport Levy, paid by the city region’s six local authorities, will also be frozen.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said:

“The pandemic has hit our region hard and I know many people have entered the New Year having seen their income vastly reduced, or sadly in some cases having lost their job, over the past 12 months.

“At the same time, the Combined Authority and our six Local Authorities have lost hundreds of millions of pounds through revenues and the cost of responding to the pandemic. Despite our strong representations to the Government, the funding to cover these shortfalls has not yet been forthcoming, so it seems likely that councils will have no choice but to increase council tax just to survive.

“In this context I – and the leaders of our six Local Authorities – do not think it would be right to add to the burden on household budgets by increasing the Metro Mayoral council tax precept or tunnel tolls at this time.

“However, it is vital that we continue to provide crucial city region-wide services, such as strategic transport, skills and economic development, if we are to emerge stronger from the pandemic in the coming year.

“Through careful management and use of reserves we are able to achieve this in our 2021-22 budget.

“But this does not mean there will not be tough choices to come in the near future.

“Unless the Government makes good on its promise to fund ‘whatever it takes’ to tackle Covid, our budgets – particularly for our transport services – will not be sustainable at this level in the long term.”