As part of a financial strategy which aims to help protect key public services and raise the wages of 2,000 of the Council’s lowest paid workers, Gwynedd’s full Council has this week (6/3/14) supported a Council Tax increase of 3.9% for 2014/15.
This increase, which is the equivalent of an additional 70p a week for an average Gwynedd household, is comprised of:
- a 3.5% increase which will go towards bridging the funding shortfall facing the Council due to a significant reduction in funding from the government
- an increase of 0.4% that will be used to increase the wages of the low paid Gwynedd Council workers such as kitchen assistants, cleaners and mid-day school supervisors.
Councillor Peredur Jenkins, Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member for Resources said:
“In 2014/15, Gwynedd Council will have to cope with a 4.4% cut in the grant we receive from the government. When combined with inflation increases of 1.3% Gwynedd will face a total funding gap of around £12 million for 2014/15.
“This funding gap is much larger than anything we have faced in decades, however by planning ahead we have been able to avoid the more immediate knee-jerk cuts some councils have been forced to make and to buy ourselves time in which to make more considered decisions for the future.
“However, it should be stressed that the coming few years are going to be extremely challenging. Our priority now over the coming months will be to consult with residents so that we can deliver the necessary savings from those service areas that will have the least impact on residents and more vulnerable people in particular.”
The full Council also voted unopposed in favour of adjusting the Council’s pay policy to increase the wages of around 2,000 of its lowest-paid members of staff. As a result, the two lowest pay points from the Council’s pay structure will now be abolished.
Gwynedd Council Leader, Councillor Dyfed Edwards added:
“I am delighted that the full Council has supported the Cabinet’s recommendation that we should raise the pay for around 2,000 of the lowest paid Council workers.
“These workers, who include kitchen assistants and cleaners, are the ones who have been hardest hit by the national economic downturn. As Gwynedd’s main employer, I am pleased that the Council has recognised the fact that those on the lowest pay are the ones who are currently suffering the most and voted to do what we can to support them.
“As well as being the right thing to do at a time when more and more people on low wages are falling into the poverty trap, giving a little extra to support the lowest paid will help the Gwynedd economy at this difficult time as the vast majority of these workers live in the county.”
