Average council tax increase across Wales for 2010-11 will be the lowest since devolution, according to a survey conducted by the Welsh Local Government Association in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
The average council tax increase for a Band D property is set to be around 3.6% – just below the Retail Price Index, which is currently running at 3.7%. The increase means that the bill for council services for an average band D property in Wales will be £926.52, an increase of just 62 pence a week on 2009-10.
Cllr Rodney Berman (Cardiff), WLGA Finance Spokesperson said:
“Councils across Wales recognise that everyone is feeling the pinch as a result of the recession and they have sought to protect the citizens in their communities by keeping council tax increases as low as possible while protecting front line services.
“This has been a tough budget round with councils facing severe pressures on their finances. Across Wales authorities are striving to make service delivery more efficient, ensuring that public money is spent on providing quality front line services to our most vulnerable citizens.
My own authority has undertaken a fundamental organisational review which examined a wide range of processes within the Council and identified options for change which the Council is now taking forward. Quite simply, it is our duty to make sure that every pound of funding is put to best use, delivering the services that make the greatest difference to our communities.”
“Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to urge anyone who is having difficulty paying their council tax to get in touch with their local council to make sure they are claiming all of the benefits to which they are entitled.”
WLGA Leader, Cllr John Davies (Pembrokeshire) added:
“I am glad to see the predicted average council tax increase across Wales for 2010-11 at just below the current rate of inflation. This reflects a determined effort to keep council tax increases at a reasonable level, despite receiving the lowest increase in Assembly Government support since devolution and seeing increasing demands for local services and reducing income.”
“Councillors understand the financial problems facing their communities at the current time and it is vital that we do all that we can to keep council tax rises to a minimum.”
“But we cannot shy away from the fact that the next few years will be extremely tough for public sector spending. Councils must therefore be prudent in their council tax setting decisions to ensure that they have sufficient funding over the medium term, as well as for the next financial year.
It remains to be seen whether Councils will be able to provide the same level of services or to employ the same number of staff – redundancies have already been seen across Welsh Councils.
It is therefore imperative that the whole of the public sector in Wales works together to ensure that there is equity across all parts of the public sector and most importantly to ensure that we put our citizens at the forefront of all the decisions that we take.”
