COUNCIL Tax could go up by £24 per household if a new Greater Manchester proposal is approved.

The combined authority which includes the police and crime commissioner position is looking at the option to fill in a shortfall in funding says Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor Baroness Bev Hughes.

Baroness Hughes says the £24 increase could pay for at least 320 additional police officers, continuing to improve the 101 service, increasing the grants to local authorities to fund community safety initiatives, and tackling both serious and violent crime and violence against women and girls.

An online consultation on the increase has been launched to run until January 27.

Baroness Hughes said: “The Government’s disappointing and shameful police grant announcement did very little to ease the pressure on stretched police budgets, and once again passed the financial burden on to local taxpayers."

She added: "“This is not an easy proposal to put forward and we do so very reluctantly, but I want to be clear that all the money raised through council tax will be invested in improving your police service. This will include continuing to strengthen police officer numbers and investing in new ways to tackle the increasing demands on the service.

“We need to balance the books whilst balancing competing demands, which is why we want to hear your views on the proposals as we continue to mitigate years of cuts."

Recently the police budget has been cut resulting in the loss of 1,000 officers across Greater Manchester.

The police grant announced before Christmas included an extra £15 million for Greater Manchester Police but Baroness Hughes says this will only cover the pension shortfall.

The government has allowed local areas to raise the police precept of the council tax by £24.

Last year the Greater Manchester Combined Authority added a mayoral precept to household's council tax to fund the mayor's office.

Have your say on the council tax proposals at gmconsult.org online.