Morgan’s Musings

CAN I firstly wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I would like to pay credit to the hundreds of council staff who have worked on the frontline over Christmas and the New Year caring for the elderly, ensuring our roads were gritted when needed, or manning our 24/7 emergency call centre to name just a few of the services.

The fantastic service these individuals provide on a daily basis often goes by completely unnoticed – unless you are one of the people who receive that support or care.

2016 was a magnificent year for our football team, with thousands of supporters following their European campaign in France. Thousands more converged on our football fanzones.

The support for the team throughout 2016 has been incredible, therefore it was fitting that their success was marked as the year drew to a close and we were delighted when Chris Coleman agreed to end a memorable year on the streets of Mountain Ash, surrounded by Nos Galan competitors and spectators.

In 2016 RCT Council started the largest investment programmes since the creation of the council in 1996. This is seeing more than £200m invested in our communities across the three areas of the county.

The New Year means that the council will need to agree its budget for the forthcoming financial year. While we know as a result of the UK austerity we will need to manage the council with reducing financial resources, I am firmly of the view that investing in services and our communities and the regeneration of our county, is the right way to mitigate the impact of cuts being imposed.

It is only through this approach that we can mitigate the impact of austerity locally, by building and investing for the future. The council’s strong financial management recognised by the Wales Audit Office has placed us in the position to undertake this kind of investment and this is an approach I am keen to see maintained as we discuss our plans for the 2016/17 budget.