If you thought council cutbacks were bad so far, expect more. The Welsh Government’s provisional financial settlement for Powys County Council will mean it has the joint worst provision of all councils in Wales.
Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George, said he was concerned and angered by the provisional settlement.
“For a decade, Powys County Council has received one of the worst financial settlements from the Welsh Government. Powys yet again receives the joint worst financial settlement of all local authorities in Wales," he said.
“This is in spite of a £370 million increase in the Welsh Government’s allocation from the UK Government over the next four years.
“Powys has borne the brunt of severe cuts to the local government budget over the last decade and while the severity of the cuts may have been somewhat halted, this remains a difficult settlement for Powys. The proposed 0.5% cut will once again require some challenging decisions that will compromise vital public services.
“As a Mid Wales Assembly Member, I will be voting against this settlement as Powys Council has been among the hardest hit yet again. There is currently huge concern for the future of our day centres and libraries, and residents across Powys will rightly question why other AMs representing Mid Wales would support such a poor deal for Powys.”
Powys County Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Wynne Jones said: "A reduction of 0.5 per cent when coupled to inflation means a two per cent reduction in our budget. The settlement will do little to reduce the financial pressures we are facing and means the budget reductions we have set out as part of the medium term financial year will remain.
"It is clear that Powys has benefitted from the recognition that providing services in rural areas is more expensive and I thank the minister for that recognition. The change means that Powys is much closer to the average funding settlement in Wales than before.
"However, budget reductions and increasing service pressures mean we will need to reduce our spending by £9.5m this financial year as part of an overall target of £29.8m over the coming three years. Earlier this year we moved to a three year financial planning cycle and that will allow us flexibility to better manage our resources.
"Reductions in the county’s population figures and projected declines in school aged pupils have a detrimental impact on the county’s financial settlement. The fall in pupil, in particular, has had a significant impact on this year’s settlement.
"We need time to analyse today’s provisional settlement to fully understand the implications for the county and for individual service areas such as schools and social services."
