Lesley Griffiths, Welsh local government minister, acknowledged that the settlement was ‘extremely challenging’ but said the Cardiff government had done what it could to ease the burden on authorities.
‘The persistent pressure on our budget from the UK coalition government has forced us to make some difficult choices,’ she said.
‘Despite this, the Welsh Government has consistently achieved a better outcome for Welsh local authorities compared to England and we continue to do so with [this] settlement.’
A damping mechanism will mean that no single authority will face an unmanageable reduction compared to the previous year, the government said. In addition, £30m of specific grants have been transferred into the revenue support grant to give authorities more flexibility in how they manage their resources.
Funding of £244m for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, following the abolition of Council Tax Benefit, is also being maintained.
‘I have worked hard to ensure the best possible outcome for local government given the funding constraints we face and to increase flexibility, achieve fairness and provide additional support,’ said Griffiths as she published the settlement on October 16.
Responding to the announcement, the Welsh Local Government Association said the settlement was ‘by far the worst’ since devolution.
Aaron Shotton, WLGA deputy leader and finance spokesman, said: ‘Whatever councils do, these cuts mean the public services delivered by local government in Wales will look significantly different within the next three to five years.
‘Communities throughout Wales will have to revise their expectations significantly in terms of what services they can realistically expect their local councils to deliver, and local councils and their communities will need to engage in some very difficult discussions on what services should be prioritised.’
The settlement is now subject to a consultation, which runs until November 20.
