Overview
- Nine of 10 Greater Manchester authorities confirmed a 4.99% rise for 2026/27, and in London all but Wandsworth, Westminster and Merton will increase bills by 4.99% as those three opt for 2.0%.
- A small group secured permission to exceed the usual cap, including North Somerset and Shropshire at 8.99%, Worcestershire at 8.98%, Trafford and Windsor & Maidenhead at 7.49%, and Warrington at 7.48%.
- Trafford’s 7.49% increase follows warnings it needs a £20m loan to balance its books or risk a section 114 notice, highlighting acute local fiscal strain.
- Greater Manchester’s mayoral precept will rise by 19.4%, adding about £25 to a typical Band D bill and funding services that include fire and rescue.
- Local impacts vary: Stoke-on-Trent sets Band D at £1,784 after a £85 annual increase; Liverpool and Knowsley confirm 4.99% budgets with Liverpool’s city council element at £2,254.37; Wirral will require most recipients of council tax support to pay at least 50% of their bill, a change that can add £557.21 for a Band A household, alongside a doubled £200,000 hardship fund.