Swansea council: Schools to benefit from 6% tax rise

Councils fund schools, care services, waste collections and some local transport

Swansea residents will pay 6% more council tax after the council passed a rise in its budget.

The council is facing a shortfall of £24m over the next financial year and councillors agreed the rise to help fund schools and social care.

Council leader Rob Stewart said the changes would inject £1.6m a day into services across the county.

The Welsh Government said it offered councils "the best settlement possible" after nine years of austerity.

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On top of the proposed 2.99% increase in council tax intended as part of budget proposals, a 1% rise will go on teachers' pay and 2% will go on social care services, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It means Band B council taxpayers will pay about £1.15 more a week.

Just over £140m of the budget has been set aside for school buildings, while £4m will be spent on new council homes and £2.4m extra has been made available for roads and pavements.

Mr Stewart said: "Every penny of extra council tax raised will go to fund education and social services.

"Despite continued government cuts we intend to spend around £1.6m a day on the vital services that people rely on every day."