Cutbacks on hold as authority gets unexpected funding hike

CUTBACKS which could have decimated a range of services in Bridgend from CCTV and street cleaning to adult community learning will no longer take place over the coming year after the local authority received an unexpected hike in its core funding.

Bridgend County Borough Council undertook a public consultation between September and November on a raft of funding cuts, warning it was reaching “breaking point” and was due to face its “toughest year”.

Over the last 10 years, the council has made £68m cuts – almost a third of its 2009-10 budget.

But in December, the Welsh Government unexpectedly announced a funding increase for all councils from April with Bridgend receiving an additional £8.8m from last year’s settlement.

The local authority said it meant a planned rise in council tax of 6.5% could now be reduced to 4.5%.

And it means it has to find £2.4m to balance the books, far less than it had first feared.

As a result, the new proposed budget sees many of the threatened cuts being withdrawn, reduced or deferred.

Council leader Huw David said: “I am pleased that the settlement has enabled us to develop proposals which seek to protect key services.

“These proposals, which are on the council’s website, will be carefully considered by cabinet before being reviewed indepth by all overview and scrutiny committee councillors, and then a final version will be reported to full council next month.”

Deputy leader Hywel

Williams said: “As the settlement from Welsh Government has been better than expected, we have been able to revisit the results of the public consultation carried out last year, and have revamped our budget proposals to reflect people’s views as much as possible.

“Council tax funds around 30% of our services, and it remains an important source of funding.

“The consultation revealed that 64% of people would be prepared to pay an additional 6.5% council tax, so at 4.5%, the settlement has helped us to strike a balance between a fair increase and the ongoing protection of essential services.

“However, the funding position beyond 2021 is far less certain.”

A report on the revised budget proposals was set to go before cabinet members on January 14.