Expect a 3.9% council tax rise

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

A week that started with Welshpool Town Council saying they would not be increasing their share of the council tax bill, has ended with Powys County Council proposing a 3.9% rise for their share.

The move would generate an extra £3.3 million for the authority and will be presented on Tuesday to the PCC Cabinet by Finance portfolio holder, Cllr Aled Davies.

Just before Christmas 2020 the Welsh Government announced a 4% rise of just over £7.3 million in funding for Powys.

This takes the draft revenue settlement for Powys from the Welsh Government up to £191.9 million. The authority has also shot up the funding league table.

Last year Powys were 14th, now they have moved up to eighth out of the 22 local authorities in Wales. Their partners in the Mid Wales Growth Deal, Ceredigion County Council are last of the 22 having received a draft increase of 1.96%.

With the Council Tax and grant funding added to the budget, the total figure for the 2021/22 will be £280.664m, £11m more than this year’s budget of £269.440 million.

The report says that funding to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic is a separate issue.

While Powys is set to receive more funding from the Welsh Government, years of languishing towards the bottom of the Welsh Local Authority finding table still means that Powys is set to receive £1,449 per person, below the Wales average of £1,471.

The report says: “The Local Government Revenue Settlement for 2021-22 provides Powys with an increased level of funding.

“But there is no indication that this level of funding will continue beyond this year, the level of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, and its impact on the UK economy and public finances will be felt for many years to come. The Council’s budget is being set within this uncertainty.

“We continue to face significant pressures to manage the increasing demand for services whilst driving improvement across Social Care and Education.

“The proposed increase in council tax will help the position but the Council must seek other opportunities to identify alternative sources of funding.”

During the next few weeks, PCC’s scrutiny committees will get the chance to look at, and comment on the budget proposals.

It is expected that the Welsh Government will set their budget in mid February,

PCC will then decided their budget at a full council meeting on February 25.

On March 4, a further council meeting will be held to formally set the budget as a legal requirement.

Precepts from Dyfed-Powys Police, Town and Community Councils will be added to this, but Welshpool has already indicated it won’t be increasing its share.