The WLGA has today called for greater clarity from Welsh Government on the level of funding that will be made available to local councils in Wales in the future.
In a letter to the Public Accounts Committee, the WLGA has called on Welsh Government to provide clearer, earlier and more detailed projections on what funding will be allocated to local government in Wales so that councils can plan their budgets more effectively.
The call follows the publication of the ‘Meeting the Financial Challenges Facing Local Government in Wales’ report by the Wales Audit Office, which identifies how improved long term financial planning will be key to meeting the significant resource challenges faced by local government in Wales.
Responding to the Committee, Cllr Aaron Shotton (Flintshire), Finance spokesperson for the WLGA said:
“Local government in Wales is already managing a collective £290million shortfall in this year’s budget, and with the continuation of UK austerity measures within public spending this is a situation that is expected to worsen over the coming years. Local councils will have to innovate and remain flexible and this will only be made possible when they are provided with much clearer and timely projections on what level of funding will be made available to them by Welsh Government.
“Within such a challenging economic climate, all tiers of government will need to work together to ‘balance the books’ and protect the wide range of local public services that have traditionally been offered to communities in Wales. As the Wales Audit Office report quite rightly points out, effective and strategic long term financial planning has a key role to play, but this will only be made possible when we see an end to short-term and incremental budget setting and achieve significant changes to the way in which Welsh Government allocates its funding to Welsh councils.
“Local government welcomes the work being taken forward by the Wales Audit Office to test how long term budgets are being set by councils in Wales, and we look forward to working with the Welsh Government to develop a more effective funding framework that offers the financial surety and flexibility that every council in Wales will require to successfully navigate their way through such a challenging economic period.”
