Extra money for schools and social care planned
SWANSEA’S cabinet has approved a budget which will pump extra money into schools and social services, take it away from other departments and put up council tax.
Education and schools will get £3.5m more in 2018/19 than this year if the budget is agreed by full council on March 1, with social services in line for a £2.5m increase.
Council tax would also rise by 4.9%, and departments such as corporate services and the environment are among those braced for another hit to help meet a predicted £28m shortfall.
Contentious proposals to charge day centre users a maximum of £40 per day and £70 per week are set to go ahead, but only after their impact on users has been assessed, a process which is likely to take several months.
Some council posts are at risk, but employees are due to receive a 2% pay rise.
Council leader Rob Stewart said: “Nobody should be in any doubt about the challenges we, and all councils, face. The (UK) government’s austerity programme shows no signs of ending, meaning the services people rely on will continue to face huge pressures.”
He added: “The message we consistently receive in these times of funding cutbacks is that families and communities want us to defend education and social care as much as possible.
“That is exactly what we are doing, and the planned increase in council tax this year will raise around £4.9m and every penny of this will go towards bolstering schools and social services.”
As well as spending £400m on dayto-day services, the Labour administration is backing a £200m programme of new schools over a five-year period, plus £57m upgrading and building council properties.
An extra £1.4m has been budgeted for road maintenance and traffic management, while the commercial services department is expected to bring in an additional £1.1m.
Proposals to charge school staff for parking are voluntary, with individual schools keeping the money raised if they choose to charge.
Swansea resident Karen Owens, who has been campaigning against the day centre charging plans, put it to cabinet members that they hadn’t listened to public opinion, citing a budget consultation which found that 72% of respondents opposed paying to use day centres.
“Where is the dignity and respect from you towards these people if you continue to ignore their wishes?” said Mrs Owens, whose 88-year-old mother attends a centre in the Cwmbwrla area.
“Why have the consultation in the first place if you are not prepared to accept the result? What was the point?”
Mr Stewart said most authorities in Wales were already charging for these services.
“While the changes would not mean anyone paying more than £70 a week, we need a thorough look at what the effect will be before deciding to implement them,” he said.