Welsh councils warn of 13,000 job losses or massive tax rises

WELSH councils say that if the Welsh Government's budget goes ahead as has been announced, it could result in council tax having to rise by 20% or more than 13,000 council jobs having to be cut across Wales.

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Finance secretary Mark Drakeford said the current draft is effectively identical to last year’s budget, but with a 2% rise to allow for inflation.

However, the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), which represents all Wales’ 22 councils, warns the settlement they would receive under his proposal will have a crippling impact and “to cover the expected gap, councils may have to raise council tax by 20% or cut thousands of jobs”.

Projections from the WLGA's finance group show that the 2.5% settlement proposed will leave an estimated shortfall of £405m. That could be covered by the equivalent of a 20% rise in council tax, or 13,049 jobs being cut.

‘A WLGA spokesperson said: “Councils see why today's draft budget was set out, and they welcome the average 2.5% rise in core funding along with ongoing support for social care and childcare.

“Still, this does not fully address the challenges local authorities face in maintaining essential services and supporting those who depend on them. To cover the expected gap, councils may have to raise council tax by 20% or cut thousands of jobs.Costs are rising across the board, and demand for services like social care and homelessness support continues to grow.

“This funding will help, but it doesn’t remove the tough choices ahead. We'll keep working closely with Welsh Government on how grants are shared out and on exploring new flexibilities that could give councils a bit more breathing room and strengthen their spending power over the next year.

“A full budget, allocating all available resources, would be preferable to a rollover budget.”

Mr Drakeford has said there is £380m unallocated in his spending plans. ‘The presumption was that money will be used to offer other parties concessions in order to secure their votes, however he will be under pressure to help councils.