‘Keep services with tax rise’

RESPONSES to a budget consultation have revealed that residents in RCT want to maintain council services – even if this means a rise in council tax.

PEOPLE in Rhondda Cynon Taf want to maintain services as they currently are even if this means a rise in council tax is needed, responses to the budget consultation have shown.

Residents have been making their budget priorities clear by using the council’s online budget simulator, answering an online survey, and through face to face discussions with the council.

As part of RCT Council’s budget consultation for 2019-20 the council has made the online budget simulator available once again. People can use it to decide which departments’ budgets to increase, cut or maintain and what level of council tax to set. A council report into the consultation responses shows more than 4,000 people were involved in the process as a whole and 245 people submitted their own budgets through the online simulator.

The overall average budget of these 245 was reduced with an increased income of £2.27m and an average decreased expenditure of £1.24m.

Music (-1.34%), cultural services (-1.25%) and support services (-1.24%) saw the biggest cuts in funding from those who used the simulator with waste, tourism and heritage, customer care, leisure, parks, libraries and adult learning and planning in the top of biggest decreases.

The smallest cuts in funding through the simulator came for schools (-0.01%), highways (-0.16%) and children’s services (-0.18%) with homecare, looked-after children, apprenticeship schemes, residential and nursing services, supported accommodation, equipment and adaptations and assessment care management also in the top 10 for the lowest budget decreases.

An average increase in council tax would be 4.45% based on these choices.

A separate survey to the simulator showed respondents felt the council should maintain as many services at the current level as possible, even if it means a reasonable increase in council tax.

When asked what their preferred level of council tax rise was more than 38% favoured a 3% rise, more than 22% suggested a 5% hike, and 13% suggested no increase at all.

More than 60% of respondents said the school budget should be protected and increased by £2.2m. In terms of protecting services from increases in fees and charges, school meals were given the highest priority with 122 responses.

Leisure centre membership received 56 comments, sports pitch fees 50 responses, social and elderly care got 38, school transport and afterschool clubs got 25, meals on wheels got 21, and car parking fees got 18.

In the face-to-face ses- sions held town centres, leisure centres and libraries, almost half (47%) felt a 3% council tax rise would be acceptable.

The council also spoke to the Older Person Advisory Group (OPAG) and the general consensus from all members of the OPAG was to increase council tax and protect services.

They agreed a 3% council tax increase but after further discussion regarding the effect to services the group agreed a final 4% council tax increase in order to close the budget gap further and protect more services, the council report says. In terms of other ideas for investment, public toilets and pavements were mentioned.

An engagement session was also held with the Rhondda Cynon Taf Disability Forum. Most people agreed that a small increase in council tax to maintain services would be preferable to cutting services.

When asked if they agreed it was reasonable to increase the schools budget all members of the group agreed however there were some comments that this money won’t make a significant difference to schools and there were concerns about how this money would be divided. The group were asked for their views on fees and charges with most agreeing that these should not be increased and frozen at their current levels or even decreased.

An engagement event was also held with Hawthorn Youth Club. All young people present agreed that investing in community groups was an important priority with this being the only area that prompted full agreement. Of high importance were improvements to parks and green spaces and to community hubs.

Those areas with the lowest levels of support were highways and roads and improving road traffic.