A PUBLIC consultation has been launched over plans to raise the county police precept by an average £10.

Labour leaders of the combined authority say the move would improve response times.

More staff have been pledged for the Greater Manchester force's contact centre under the proposal.

Under the new plans, there would be a £10 increase for a Band D property, or £7.77 for a Band B property, which applies to most taxpayers.

The wider package would also see 438 additional police officers, with 60 of them dedicated to road safety. This would apparently allow TravelSafe officers to focus on public transport safety.

Days of action would also continue and a new community messaging system for neighbourhood teams.

Metro Mayor Andy Burnham, said: “Having withheld the full increase of the police precept this time last year due to performance issues, GMP is now in a different position.

"We now have a new chief constable with a new improvement plan, and we should show our confidence in that plan. That is why should be backing him through more resources to get GMP to where it needs to be.

“Under the new chief constable’s leadership, he has already made considerable progress in tackling crime and remains on track to fully implement his improvement plan.

"While there is still more to do, I hope the public will agree with me in this consultation process to support our police by giving them more funding so they can truly transform into the service we want them to be and keep our communities safe.”

Bev Hughes, deputy mayor for policing, added: “As we don’t have the same number of frontline officers we had back in 2011, it is vital that we continue to invest in our force to make sure they are focused on and have the resources they need to fight and prevent crime.

"Funds raised by the police precept will help us make further and faster changes to GMP including response times to reported crime, arresting more criminals, a one hundred per cent attendance offered to every victim of burglary, and more officers recruited to improve road safety.

"We want the public to have confidence in GMP again and with the help of local taxpayers through the police precept, I know we can do that.”