Blaenau Gwent Council Warns of £10 Million Budget Cuts and Savings

A STARK warning has been issued by Blaenau Gwent council that cuts and savings worth £10 million need to be made in next year’s budget.
Ahead of next year’s budget setting process the county borough council has issued a stark warning to residents that “some difficult decisions” lie ahead.
This follows the Welsh Government announcing mid-year spending cuts in an emergency budget statement last month after it was revealed in August that they have a £900 million gap to deal with.
And it has been predicted that there will be £395 million shortfall in funding for Welsh local authorities of the next two years.
In recent meeting council leader, Cllr Steve Thomas said: “We are concerned around the budget, pressures are coming upon us and it’s getting, dare I say, bleaker by the day right throughout the country.”
A council statement said: “The upcoming budget setting for process for 2024/2025 alone will be a really challenging time for all local authorities in Wales.
“We have to find almost £10 million to balance next year’s budget.”
The statement says this could rise to £35 million over the next five years.
It said: “High inflation and energy prices have and continue to increase the cost of delivering services.
“The cost of living crisis is increasing demand which means the council is being asked for higher levels of support at the same time.
“Without an increase in funding from central Government it means that some difficult decisions will have to be made for next year’s budget, as rising costs continue to hit our budgets hard.
The statement explains the council will need to look at “everything” it does to see if it’s ‘sustainable’, to continue providing certain services.
“We will need to review the level and frequency of some services and look at whether there is a need to increase or implement charges,” it said.
It is expected that the Welsh Government will announce next year’s level of funding for local authorities in the run up to Christmas.
This will start the council’s budget making in earnest and will see Blaenau Gwent residents asked their views in a consultation on what the “priority areas” of services that need protecting should be.
The statement said: “There are no proposals at this stage, and we will be seeking your views in the next couple of months as we consider plans to set a budget for 2024/2025 and beyond.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​