Hot Seat Tom Giffard

BRIDGEND Labour Council’s proposed budget has captured many of the headlines, and it’s no surprise why.

A 5% cut for our schools, closing Bridgend bus station and a whopping 9.5% Council Tax rise will unsurprisingly have got tongues wagging across the County Borough.

When I raised the issue in the Senedd with First Minister Mark Drakeford, he said that this is why people in Bridgend vote Labour and that it’s a well-run council. I’m sure readers will be queuing up in their droves to concur with his assessment of the council’s performance.

“Ah”, we hear the socialists cry, “But we don’t get enough money from Westminster” - that’s also not true.

The Welsh Government gets

£1.20 for every £1 spent in England, which led to another recordbreaking budget for the Welsh Government this year.

In fact, Keir Starmer has promised not to radically change the UK’s spending plans so it’s safe to assume he thinks the Welsh Government get enough money too.

So if Bridgend Labour Council feel they haven’t got enough money to stop these crazy Council Tax rises and service cuts, they should be looking to Cardiff Bay to solve the problem.

But we shouldn’t let the council itself off the hook so easily. For years they’ve been unwilling or unable to deal with the pressures on their own budget. Time and time again, the council has admitted significant overspends in the social services department, and particularly an over-reliance on agency staff, which makes the service both more expensive and less safe.

A Care Inspectorate Wales report last year said that a high number of agency staff were still being used in front-line services and management roles at the council. The council itself identified the lack of progress in this area earlier this year in an internal report.

So when you get your Council Tax bill through the door this year, or see the bus station closed or the impact on your local school, know that’s a problem of Labour’s making, and whether it’s in Bridgend, Cardiff Bay or Westminster, they’re the ones that can put it right.