IT has been confirmed that the policing element of council tax will rise by an average of £5 a year.

Greater Manchester's interim mayor and police and crime commissioner Tony Lloyd unveiled his budget at a forum meeting yesterday, Wednesday.

He says cuts from central government has left him with no choice but to enforce the hike that will come into effect from the start of April.

Mr Lloyd added that the money will be used to recruit hundreds of new police officers to help keep communities safe.

"The Government’s continued failure to safeguard police funding has left me with no choice but to increase the policing element of the council tax," he said.

"I do this reluctantly as I understand the financial pressures families are facing, and both I and the chief constable are committed to investing this money in the frontline and keeping as many officers as possible on our streets.”

Greater Manchester Police had their funding slashed by £5.7 million this year and say they need to find savings of £14 million this year and £44 million by 2020.

Last year, for the first time in half a decade, GMP began recruiting new officers to help shore-up the service, including 200 from Greater Manchester’s communities.

GMP say the council tax rise will allow them to keep police officer numbers at around 6,300, down from 8,000 officers in 2010.

The first 100 of these new recruits were sworn in as officers last month and Mr Lloyd says yesterday's budget announcement will boost this recruitment drive.

“Greater Manchester is a proudly diverse region and it is common sense that our police service is reflective of this and is able to understand the communities it serves," he said.

"Last year I was able to support the chief constable in beginning recruitment on a scale we haven’t seen in five years, giving us an opportunity to bring in fresh ideas and diversity to the workforce.

"I am pleased to see that of the 100 new recruits from local communities, more than a third are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

“The budget I have announced will help to boost this recruitment, giving more local people the opportunity to get into policing and help keep our streets, homes and families safe.

“Greater Manchester is the most challenging area to police, with officers faced with increasingly complex investigations and rising crime levels.

"With this budget I am investing in the safety of our communities and supporting the chief constable in maintaining an efficient, effective police service – a service that understands its communities and one that people can have confidence in.”