Minister announces £4 billion Settlement for Council Services

Local authorities will receive funding totalling more than £4 billion from the Welsh Government in 2015-16 the Public Services Minister, Leighton Andrews said today.

Announcing how much each Council will receive in Revenue Support Grant, the Minister said the total funding of £4.124 billion represents a decrease of 3.4% on what they received last year on a like for like basis.

Leighton Andrews said

“The settlement I am announcing today is challenging but this is a consequence of the large scale budget reductions being imposed by the UK Government. The Welsh Government’s budget for 2015-16 will be around 10% lower in real terms compared with 2010-11.

“However, unlike England, we have protected Local Authorities in Wales from the bulk of these cuts over the past five years. Spending on local services in England has decreased by around 7% in cash terms, while in Wales it has increased by 3%.

“To limit the impact next year for any individual Council, I am putting in place a damping mechanism so that no authority will see a year on year reduction of more than 4.5%.

“This Government has worked hard to find extra resources for Social Services and Schools. This means local authorities in Wales no longer on average face the 4.5% reduction we feared earlier this year.

“I am providing an additional £10 million in recognition of the importance of strong local social services to the long-term success of the health service in Wales and will continue to protect school funding in line with our commitment to provide an increase in resources at 1% above the overall change in the Welsh Budget.

“When Local Authorities draw up their budget plans for next year I expect them to look at all income streams, including council tax and income from fees and charges. In setting Council Tax levels I urge them to balance the funding challenges they face with consideration of the financial burden facing households.

“Finally, the Settlement again provides £244 million for a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for all eligible applicants. Local Authorities must take account of the effect of the scheme in making decisions about their council tax levels.”