Manchester council will have to make £96m of cuts over the next three years, according to the latest forecasts which include a 3 pc council tax hike in April. The local authority is looking for £28m of savings in the next financial year alone, assuming its portion of the council tax bill will increase by 2.99 pc.
The biggest budget cuts over the next three years would be to social care. But town hall bosses are also considering scrapping public fireworks displays, reducing Manchester Art Gallery's opening hours and raising car parking fees.
It comes as councils await the government's autumn statement in which the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce cuts to public spending. Meanwhile, councils like Manchester's are preparing their own annual budgets – but council leader Bev Craig said this has been 'the most unpredictable year'.
