'Valuable' council services in Wales get 3.8% funding increase

Councils play a "crucial role" in the drive to improve public services, says minister Julie James

Funding for councils in Wales will go up by 3.8% next year, in what the Welsh Government calls a "stable platform" to deliver "valuable" local services.

The increases range from 2% for Ceredigion to 5.6% for Newport, all well above inflation at 0.5%.

Core funding from the Welsh Government covers between two-thirds and three-quarters of each council's budget.

Local Government Minister Julie James said she knew how much pressure councils were under in the pandemic.

"This year, more than ever, we have seen how essential local government is to how we all live and particularly for the most vulnerable in our communities," she said.

"This funding is a recognition of the crucial role of local authorities in our national mission to improve education, provide social care, tackle poverty and fight climate change."

Local council revenue spending in Wales - Provisional settlement for 2021/22

Anglesey - £105m - up 3.4%

Gwynedd - £195m - up 3.4%

Conwy - £167m - up 3.6%

Denbighshire - £159m - up 3.6%

Flintshire - £207m - up 3.8%

Wrexham - £189m - up 2.3%

Powys - £192m - up 4%

Ceredigion - £110m - up 2%

Pembrokeshire - £179m - up 4%

Carmarthenshire - £285m - up 3.8%

Swansea - £353m - up 3.9%

Neath Port Talbot - £237m - up 4.2%

Bridgend - £212m - up 4.3%

Vale Of Glamorgan - £168m - up 4.9%

Rhondda Cynon Taf - £404m - up 3.8%

Merthyr Tydfil - £101m - up 4.6%

Caerphilly - £292m - up 3.1%

Blaenau Gwent - £120m - up 3.7%

Torfaen - £146m - up 4.3%

Monmouthshire - £101m - up 3.9%

Newport - £241m - up 5.6%

Cardiff - £488m - up 3.8%

Total - £4,650m - up 3.8%

The Welsh Government is giving local councils more than £4.6bn to cover day-to-day spending in 2021/22, with money for roads, new school buildings and other capital projects taking the total to £6.3bn.

Ms James said she also hoped the settlement would help councils increase the "scale and pace" of social housebuilding.

She said she also recognised that services had been "significantly impacted" by the coronavirus pandemic, although those issues would be considered separately from the annual settlement.

There will be seven weeks of consultation on the proposed funding before it is finalised.

Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council and of the Welsh Local Government Association, said: "This is a welcome settlement as it provides investment for local services and gives councils some certainty they need to plan in unpredictable times.

"This year has been exceptionally hard for all of us, and councils have worked with the Welsh Government to support and protect our communities."