THE HEADLINE figure is an average rise in Welsh local authority budgets by 4.3%. Every Welsh rural council got less than that.

From Monmouthshire in the east to Anglesey in the north to Pembrokeshire in the west, the funding bonanza trumpeted by the Welsh Government as part of the best financial settlement since devolution turned into a damp, wet fart. No rural authority got the average settlement; only Carmarthenshire came close with a 4.1 increase. Meanwhile, Labour councils in the Valleys and metropolitan areas all experienced above-average rises in Welsh Government funding.

Local MS Sam Kurtz said, “It’s clear that the Welsh Labour Government is looking after their heartlands first and foremost as we run up to the Senedd election and is ignoring the needs of others.

“Delivering services in rural areas costs more; it’s the rural premium, but for the Welsh Labour Government to ignore this shows them at their worst.

“Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire county councils are asked to do more and more. It’s only right that they are supported correctly to deliver those services. Sadly, this provisional settlement falls well short of what is required.”

WG “TAKING PEMBROKESHIRE PUBLIC FOR FOOLS”

Pembrokeshire Conservative county councillor Aled Thomas said: “Labour is taking the Pembrokeshire public for fools, claiming that today’s announcement is good for Pembrokeshire when the reality is that our rural communities are being left behind once again.

“Labour is giving with one hand and taking away with the other, with a significant proportion of this additional money already spent on increased national insurance contributions.

“Pembrokeshire’s Labour cabinet member for finance must now commit that this money will be spent on core services and not wasted on vanity projects as we have seen time and again in the county.”

Whether Josh Beynon, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, rises to that challenge remains to be seen. Our request for a response to the Welsh Government’s funding settlement for Pembrokeshire was refused.

SETTLEMENT SHOWS WHERE LOYALTIES LIE

The Independent Group was not as shy.

“The Welsh Government settlement lays bare where their true loyalties lie and the battleground for Senedd 2026 where Labour will concentrate their resources on protecting their established strongholds at all costs. “They may deny it, but that’s the appearance with healthier WG settlements of above 5% for Cardiff, Newport and Merthyr compared to 3.6% for Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Anglesey and even less for Gwynedd at 3.2%. Inflation is currently at 2.3%, meaning the real increase for Pembrokeshire is around 1.3%, and higher inflation over the next few months will erode the value of this settlement further.

“Furthermore, all local authorities are currently having to accept the consequence of the Chancellor’s rise of National Insurance, with Mark Drakeford revealing that there will be no decision from the UK government on NI compensation for public sector employers until May 2025, meaning much of the additional AEF will have already been swallowed up, a decision that needs to be taken sooner rather than later many would suggest.”

CONSULTATION UNDERWAY

The Independent Group spokesperson continued: “Today launches six weeks of formal consultation on the settlement for 2024-25, ending on Friday, January 24, 2025.

“We hope that the current administration will use this process to articulate the concerns of many, that the settlement is not sufficient to cover the financial pressure faced by Pembrokeshire and argue for additional support, even if targeted towards areas of significant concern such as Social Care.

“The reality for us in Pembrokeshire is that providing the services our residents expect and rightly deserve has just become a lot more difficult with this settlement, which can only be described as disappointing.

“As a direct result of this AEF settlement, we will inevitably face a higher than wished-for Council Tax rise in April 2025, and much of the responsibility will sit with Cardiff.

“Pembrokeshire has the joint highest second home council tax in Wales, and we will almost certainly increase the level of tax on empty homes. Many of us in County Hall cannot be accused of shirking tough decisions that best serve our residents.

“We have significant Social Care pressures, which is a common theme across all Welsh local authorities. We have many schools falling into deficit, with Ysgol y Preseli, Milford Haven & Greenhill in dire need of a total overhaul to provide the facilities our young deserve. We hope that the Welsh Government will see fit to allocate Pembrokeshire a generous element of the £1.04bn for the capital grant they have provisionally allocated in this settlement for all of Wales. The continuation of the 40% business relief for tourism, hospitality and leisure businesses is welcomed for an industry that employs 23% of our working population.

COUNCIL TAX AFFORDABILITY CRUCIAL

“The Independent Group will focus on the need to protect essential services whilst addressing the ability of hard-pressed households to afford further Council Tax rises next April.

“In a week when the local authority, partner agencies, and many volunteers have stood up to Storm Darragh’s challenges, the least our residents deserved was more bad news with today’s Welsh Government settlement for Pembrokeshire.

“Storm Darragh’s impact highlighted the need for careful management of Council reserves. Using up reserves cannot continue year on year. Therefore, any proposal for their future use must be carefully considered before we can support it. Once used, these reserves are not available for future eventualities.

“Without additional support, this settlement will result in even higher Council tax bills in four months.”

The spokesperson concluded: “As the largest opposition group within County Hall, we will hold this administration to account in the forthcoming weeks and months prior to setting the Council Tax for 2025/26. We will be critical friends in this task and will not shirk from asking difficult questions.”