Politics

Councils’ budgets ‘war of attrition’

Published

8 years ago

October 11, 2017

The cost of cuts: Councils will lose 4.5% net

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT settlement announced by Welsh Government continues an eight-year run of real term reductions to local government funding.

That’s according to the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) in response to Tuesday’s (Oct 10) announcement of the provisional budget for local government by Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford.

The Welsh Government claims the Budget will ‘protect key services’, as they continue to squeeze councils into devoting an ever-larger slice of an ever-diminishing budget to its core priorities.

‘COUNCILS PROTECTED FROM WORST OF CUTS’

While the Welsh Government claims that no council will have to cut more than 1% off its budget next year and 1.5% off the budget for 2019/20, when other costs are factored in all councils will be faced with a further significant cut above and beyond the headline claims. And taking Welsh government grants out of the final settlement suggests that cuts will be deeper still.

Announcing the provisional settlement, Mark Drakeford said: “Last year I told local authorities to prepare for the tougher times and harder choices that lay ahead as the flawed and failed policy of austerity continues to hit Wales hard.

“My priority, using a formula we have agreed with local government, is to try and protect councils from the worst of the cuts.

“Next year’s settlement might be difficult. We have done all we can to make it manageable. Councils must now use this time to plan ahead and ensure that funding goes to the services and people who need it the most.”

‘SERVICES HAVE BEEN PUMMELLED’

Professor Drakeford’s words got a stony welcome from the WLGA.

A statement from the body said: “In the context of ongoing and prolonged austerity, councils will view this as a very difficult and challenging settlement for supporting vital services that contribute to the education, health and well- being of our communities.

“Leaders across Wales have pushed for parity of funding and particularly sought new investment in a range of services, such as economic development, environmental health and transport, which have been pummelled by cuts.

“The headline reduction of 0.5% fails to recognise the full story; with service pressures that amount to £212m in 2018-19 alone, the sector will have to look for savings of nearly 4.5% of net budgets in the next financial year. This comes on top of cuts of over £1bn that have been made to date and 25,000 job losses across the sector. While the reduction is within the range predicted by the WLGA, local government is still bearing the heaviest burden of austerity.”

‘POSITION IS UNSUSTAINABLE’

Commenting on the draft settlement, Councillor Debbie Wilcox (Newport), WLGA Leader said: “The problem for local government is that we are now in a ‘war of attrition’. Services are wearing down to the point of collapse and the public are rightly growing frustrated in terms of paying council tax and yet seeing key community functions cut or closed.

“The whole position is unsustainable. Local authorities cannot go on to be expected to make the harshest of cuts whilst continuing to provide the same breadth and level of service; in short, something has got to give. “

‘WORKFORCE DESERVES A PAY RISE’

Councillor Emlyn Dole (Carmarthenshire), WLGA Plaid Cymru Group Leader said: “Welsh councils will still face severe financial pressures estimated to be over £200m for the next financial year alone due to demographic factors and workforce related pressures.

“I would urge the UK Government to use its Budget announcement in November to fully fund any relaxation of the pay cap. Every 1% increase in pay costs the public sector around £100m, and £35m of that is attributable to councils.

“Our workforce deserves a pay rise. In this context, local government funding must be more flexible and the transfer of nearly £100m of grants into the settlement is a positive step. I would urge Ministers to think about the other funding flexibilities for the other £700m in grants which put an additional administrative burden on the public services.”

UNDERFUNDED AND UNSUSTAINABLE

Councillor Hugh Evans OBE (Denbighshire), WLGA Independent Group Leader said: “The funding formula delivers a range of increases and decreases across the 22 local authorities. We need to make sure that the system takes account of the additional needs of providing services in communities with diverse needs and especially the additional costs of providing services in rural communities which are dramatically underfunded.”

Councillor Peter Fox OBE (Monmouthshire), WLGA Conservative Group Leader said: “Social services and education should be funded on equal terms with health, which means providing the £160m that both services need to stand still next year. There are also a range of preventative services within councils that will not survive unless the Welsh Government has a long hard look at the way it allocates money across the totality of public services. Ring-fencing small sums in the settlement for those services is like robbing Peter to pay Paul, as other services suffer.”

‘SERIOUS CASH INJECTION REQUIRED’

UNISON has also criticised the Welsh government’s budget for local authority spending as wholly inadequate. The trade union has warned thousands of jobs will be lost and local public services will be reduced or disappear completely because councils are under severe financial pressure.

UNISON also blasted Welsh Government’s failure to fund the implement of the Foundation Living Wage to lift thousands of council workers out of in-work poverty, something it says could have been achieved with a relatively modest injection of cash.

Dominic MacAskill, UNISON head of local government said: “Today’s news is grim indeed. People can’t understand why their library opening hours will have to be reduced or their youth club shut down in the name of austerity. Communities need quality local services otherwise they cease to be healthy and liveable places but councils are struggling to provide these and more – parks and leisure services, food hygiene and environment health services, on the meagre budgets Welsh Government has today granted.

“Savage spending cuts might be directed by Westminster Conservatives but the Welsh Government must see the lack of new money for local authorities in the announcement today will mean thousands more council jobs are lost and services at smaller councils might collapse altogether. Our warning couldn’t be starker: without a serious injection of cash, some councils will become unsustainable.”

Mr MacAskill added: “Public service workers will be incredibly frustrated their concerns are not being listened to. Welsh government has missed an opportunity to lift thousands of hard working council staff out of in-work poverty by failing to fund the Foundation Living Wage for all local government employees. They agreed this was necessary in the NHS and the Civil Service, why can’t they do it for all public service workers?”

News

Welsh Labour confirms ranked candidates for Sir Gaerfyrddin

Published

47 minutes ago

November 17, 2025

Tom Sinclair

WELSH LABOUR has confirmed the ranked list of candidates for the new Senedd constituency of Sir Gaerfyrddin.

The party selected a shortlist for each of Wales’ sixteen new constituencies earlier this summer, with local members taking part in recent weeks to determine the order of their preferred candidates.

Candidates have already been announced for Clwyd, Sir Fynwy, Torfaen, Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, Gŵyr Abertawe, and Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd.

Welsh Labour’s ranked candidates for Sir Gaerfyrddin are:

Calum Higgins
Dawn Evans
Martyn Palfreman
David Darkin
Lewis Davies
Andre McPherson

The rankings remain provisional and will require formal endorsement by the Welsh Executive Committee. Further announcements for the remaining constituencies are expected in the coming weeks.

Ministry of Defence

DAVIES: “Failure to investigate Afghan resettlement complaint untenable”

Published

4 hours ago

November 17, 2025

Tom Sinclair

MS raises alarm over lack of transparency as ICO refuses to probe MOD silence

A SENEDD Member has accused the Information Commissioner’s Office of taking an “untenable” position after it refused to investigate a complaint about the Ministry of Defence’s failure to provide details on Afghan resettlement in Wales.

South Wales Central Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies said the ICO’s handling of his office’s request “defies common sense” and risks fuelling public suspicion about the level of scrutiny applied to the UK Government’s Afghan relocation schemes.

Complaint dates back to October request

Mr Davies’ office first wrote to the Ministry of Defence on 15 October 2025 seeking detailed information about Afghan resettlement activity, including the MOD’s decision to utilise the Holiday Inn Express in Rhoose for housing evacuees under government schemes.

The request also sought figures relating to criminal incidents, safeguarding issues and public safety linked to the various Afghan resettlement programmes operating across the UK.

When repeated follow-ups went unanswered, a member of Mr Davies’ staff submitted a formal complaint to the ICO on his behalf — a standard practice in parliamentary offices.

**Protest at the Holiday Inn, Rhoose, have come from both the left and the right side of politics**

ICO: complaint rejected because staff member sent it

However, an ICO case officer informed the staff member that the complaint would not be investigated because the individual who submitted it was not the same person who made the original request for information.

Mr Davies said this was “highly unusual,” noting that elected representatives routinely submit correspondence through staff. He warned that the ICO’s decision risks undermining confidence in public oversight mechanisms.

Sky News raised concerns over alleged misuse

The row comes against a backdrop of increased public scrutiny of Afghan resettlement schemes following a recent Sky News investigation. The report alleged that some applicants had exaggerated or fabricated claims of assisting British forces during the Afghanistan conflict.

The investigation cited cases of allegedly fake Taliban threat letters, staged videos purporting to show torture, and claims of attacks that could not be verified. These allegations have driven renewed calls for transparency in how resettlement decisions were made.

Davies: public safety questions remain unanswered

Mr Davies said that the MOD’s silence — and the ICO’s refusal to intervene — leaves elected representatives unable to fulfil their responsibilities to constituents.

“There are serious questions regarding the government’s various Afghan resettlement schemes – relevant both nationally and to my own constituency,” he said.

“It is concerning how obstructive authorities have been regarding the release of information, particularly that concerning crime rates and public safety. There are serious concerns many people may have been brought to Britain under false pretences and the MOD’s failure to be open and transparent will only exacerbate this.”

Formal complaint lodged

Mr Davies has now written directly to the Information Commissioner urging a review of the decision and calling for immediate steps to secure disclosure from the MOD.

He argues that without access to accurate statistics, the public cannot have confidence in oversight of the Afghan resettlement programme or the processes used to verify applicants’ claims.

Politics

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park issues financial update

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PEMBROKESHIRE’S national park is expected to have a far better financial situation than previously feared, with a current underspend of nearly £600,000, and an expected balanced budget at the end of the financial year.

At the November meeting of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s Audit & Corporate Services Review Committee, a report for members said, as of September 30, the half-way mark in the financial year, the authority’s revenue position showed a net surplus of £563,000 against an expected budget deficit of £371,000; £934,000 better than expected.

It said the overall income generated by the park is £577,00 higher than budget, with trading income £232,000 over budget, through higher centre admission fees (£86,000), café sales (£23,000) and car park income (£139,000).

“The good summer weather and increased admission prices has contributed to this result,” it said.

Other financial boosts include a one-off sum of £113,000 received as compensation for increased national insurance costs, £165,000 received for capital expenditure, a payment for the National Designated landscapes Scheme received in advance, and increased merchandising sales making an additional £68,000 of profit.

It said costs overall are £404,000 under budget, but the capital programme for the year has increased from the original budget of £1,675,000 to a revised budget of £1,979,000 due the inclusion of Phase 2 of the Traeth Mawr/Newport Sands redevelopment.

It says that, at the end of the financial year, the position is forecast to be even better, with a £591,000 surplus.

“However, this assumes there is no catch-up of underspends by departments,” the report says, adding: “If we do spend in accordance to budget, then we will continue to expect a net deficit which will be met out of earmarked reserves.

“The most realistic scenario is a balanced budget for the year buffered by the additional revenue funding of £1.4m received from Welsh Government in the prior year, carried forward as an EMR and used to balance the budget.

“No deficit is therefore forecast for 25-26. Note this is estimated, before the impact of pension reserve movements and depreciation adjustments. This forecast assumes income targets are achieved and costs remain under control.”

Speaking at the meeting, Chief Executive Tegryn Jones said: “From a medium to long term the financial situation is very bleak, however it’s been a fairly positive year for us.”

He said a two per cent increase in the settlement from Welsh Government was predicted for next year, equating to a £0.75m pressure.

Members agreed to note the report as well as noting and approving the movement in earmarked reserves and increased capital budget to date.