COUNCIL TAX GETS 4.8% HIKE

... But leaders warn they still fear £20m further cuts by 2021 as austerity programme goes on

PEOPLE in Gwynedd face paying an extra £60 a year after a 4.8% council tax rise was rubber-stamped.

A full council meeting last week saw members strongly back the proposed hike, with the average Band D household now facing annual bills of more than £1,300.

Despite the rise, the authority says it still faces cuts of £75m to make up the remaining budget shortfall, with finance portfolio holder Cllr Peredur Jenkins pointing the finger at the UK Government’s austerity programme and ministers in Cardiff Bay. He added that Gwynedd’s mediumterm financial plan is braced for up to £20m in further cuts between now and 2021.

PEOPLE in Gwynedd face paying an extra £60 a year after a 4.8% council tax rise was rubber stamped.

A full council meeting last week saw members strongly back the proposed hike, with the average Band D household now facing annual bills of more than £1,300.

Despite the rise the authority says it still faces cuts of £75m to make up the remaining budget shortfall.

A report presented to members said: “The key is to strike an appropriate balance between the need to spend on services for the most vulnerable in our society, and the appropriate increase to be levied. It is recommended to increase the tax by 4.8%, which would produce tax of £67.74m.”

Cllr Peredur Jenkins, Gwynedd council’s finance portfolio holder, told members he “derived no pleasure in proposing a budget under such circumstances”, while hitting out at the pressures placed on local authorities by the UK Government’s austerity programme and ministers in Cardiff Bay.

He added that Gwynedd’s medium term financial plan is braced for up to £20m in further cuts between now and 2021, and that the authority “cannot avoid making difficult decisions”.

The budget was voted through in a landslide at Caernarfon’s council chamber, with many opposition members backing the Plaid Cymru-run administration.

While confirming he would vote for the budget, Labour’s Sion Jones called for a “rank and file review” of the nation’s taxation system.

After the budget was passed, Cllr Jenkins said: “We have carefully planned for the long term, and this means that between now and April 2019 we won’t have to make any additional service cuts beyond those already agreed.

“However, the financial outlook for the future is extremely bleak.”