Powys councillors to consider 4.9 per cent Council Tax hike

Senior Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors have agreed the Powys County Council draft budget for 2026/2027, which includes a Council Tax increase of 4.9 per cent.

At the councll’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, January 20, Finance portfolio holder Cllr David Thomas pointed out that over half of the households in the county receive some sort of Council Tax discount.

Next year the council predicts its budget need will be £402.547 million, which is over £35 million more than this year’s budget of £367 million.

The Welsh Government is set to give Powys £267.532 million next year and the extra Council Tax increase is supposed to provide an extra £7.388 million, which takes the figure up to £122.982 million, giving a combined total of £390.514 million

This still leaves a gap of just over £12 million which will need to be filled by cuts and savings, which includes a £6 million reduction in council pension contributions.

Cllr Thomas (Labour – Tawe Uchaf) said:  “It’s important to note this will not impact on the pension benefits of current or former employees in anyway.

“In proposing this Council Tax increase of 4.9 per cent there has been careful consideration of affordability for Powys residents.

“More than 53 per cent of our residents will receive support to meet their Council Tax bills, from exemptions and discounts to eligibility from the Council Tax Reduction which totals over £13 million for 2026/2027.”

He stressed that the Cabinet don’t have the final say on Council Tax, which will be set along with the whole budget at a full council meeting at the end of February.

Cabinet member for Adult Social Services, Cllr Pete Roberts (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod South) drew his colleagues’ attention to the budget survey findings.

The survey was held from December 4 to January 4 and received 251 responses.

Cllr Roberts said: “It’s worth reflecting in that survey, 65 per cent (163) of residents backed a mix of raising Council Tax and managing our budgets effectively.

“We asked where people want to prioritise services and they identified Adult Social Care, Education and Highways, and we’ve invested £8 million, £7 million and £2.5 million into each of those areas.”

He added that the survey showed that 72.5 per cent of respondents wanted to see investment in schools.

Cllr Roberts said: “There is always the question – are we, as Cabinet, listening?

“And if you look at the responses I think this budget matches our priorities and the public’s priorities on delivering the best we can do for the residents of Powys.”

Council Leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) alluded to the unofficial budget consultation that he and Cllr Roberts had conducted in Llandrindod Wells.

Cllr Berriman said: “The people we spoke to overwhelmingly sympathise with the difficulty of producing a balanced budget when faced with the scales of what to cut and what to spend.”

Eventually Cabinet went to a vote and unanimously backed the draft budget proposals.

Next week sees the budget start its journey with all scrutiny committees being given the opportunity to probe proposals.

Opposition groups will also have the opportunity to present an “alternative” budget.

Judgement day for the final draft budget will take place at a full council meeting on February 26, when all 68 councillors get the chance to vote on it.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service