Homophobia was behind just under one in six hate crimes recorded in Greater Manchester, recent figures reveal, as the council says it will continue to make people in the borough feel as welcome as possible.

Home Office data shows Greater Manchester Police (GMP) recorded 1,461 homophobic and biphobic hate crimes in the year to March 2021.

It means someone's sexual orientation was a motivating factor in 16 per cent of the 9,133 hate crimes recorded in Greater Manchester last year.

The figures reflect a national trend which has seen hate crimes based on sexual orientation have almost doubled in the last five years in England and Wales.

The figures show transphobia was a factor in 169 hate crimes recorded by GMP last year.

Police can record more than one motivating factor behind an offence.

In England and Wales, transphobic hate crimes more than doubled in the last five years, from 1,195 in 2016-17 to 2,630 last year, while sexual orientation crimes increased from 8,569 to 17,135.

The Home Office said that while the biggest drivers behind the rises were improvements in police recording and increased willingness from victims to come forward, the government "could not be complacent".

Excluding figures from GMP, which did not provide data for 2019-20, there were 115,000 hate crimes recorded across England and Wales in the year to March – a nine per cent rise from 105,000 the year before.

Around three quarters of hate crimes recorded last year were racially motivated.

In Greater Manchester there were 6,784 racially motivated incidents, 735 disability-related hate crimes and 750 offences linked to religion.

In response to the figures, Bury Council reiterated its commitment to making the borough "a place where every person is made welcome".

Cllr Richard Gold, cabinet member for communities at the council, said: “We are determined to ensure that Bury is a place where every person is made welcome and treated with respect and fairness.

“Inclusion is at the heart of our Let’s Do It ambitions, and we are working with our partners in the NHS, public services, community groups and networks to ensure we take a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, harassment and victimisation of any kind.

“The council has played a leading role in refreshing the Community Safety Plan, which identified community cohesion as a top priority and a focus on tackling hate crime in all its forms.

“As part of this, a Hate Crime Ambassadors session took place on the Operation Avro day of action in May.

“This included community leads to discuss training and support opportunities, and a dedicated LGBTQI worker, in conjunction with Bury Voluntary and Community Faith Alliance, is working with young people in particular around LGBTQI awareness.

“Information about these ambassadors, and the different ways to report a hate crime, can be found here: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=11250. No incident is too small to report, and can be done anonymously.

“Also, a Community Safety Partnership hate crime funding programme will be launched this summer for community groups to apply to, with a specific focus on reaching networks who haven’t previously sought to access funding for initiatives that raise awareness of preventing and tackling hate crime.

“This will be shared through the community LGBTQI forum and https://www.buryvcfa.org.uk/grants/

 “In addition, supporting the annual Bury Pride event and working with partners such as Healthwatch Bury on their Pride in Practice initiative.

“This will continue through the return of the Rainbow Train in September.

“Promotion of the LGBTQI+ Forum to raise awareness and give people a voice and a chance to share experiences, join events and activities, and be informed on support offers.

"The forum is a key element of Bury’s Voluntary and Community Sector infrastructure - for more information on the forum and their events please visit https://theburydirectory.co.uk/services/bury-lgbt-forum.

 Work between The Proud Trust, Early Break and Bury Youth Services in hosting a group for LGBT young people in the borough, including peer support and training.

"Promotion of cultural and creative opportunities through Bury Art Museum and The Big Fandango.

"This has included a blend of awareness raising, information and support, such as through Hidden Voices session at The Met as part of the national LGBT History Month.

"Celebration and raising awareness of national LGBTQI dates of significance, including recently the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia."

The government said it is committed to tackling hate crime and recent efforts include working to improve recording of crime, funding for anti-bullying interventions in schools and producing resources to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ abuse.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “All forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable.The cowards who commit them should feel the full force of the law."