13 March 2009
By Paul Dicken
Welsh councils expect to make up to 2,000 people redundant over the next two years as a result of the recession.
A survey of the 22 local authorities by the Welsh Local Government Association found that at least 700 jobs would go in 2009 at 11 authorities. This is a result of councils having to cope with budget overspends due to additional demand on services and reduced income. The majority of job losses will be in the south of Wales.
The survey showed that authorities were anticipating a loss of £35m of investment income during 2009/10 from a decrease in interest payments, while town halls try to keep council tax increases down.
The WLGA has put the average council tax increase in Wales at between 3.8% and 3.9% for the next financial year, the second lowest since devolution in the late 1990s.
WLGA leader John Davies, an independent councillor in Pembrokeshire, said: ‘Over the past year we have already seen a significant downsizing of local government services and staff levels as a result of insufficient funding for local government.’
Cardiff, which is seeking to shed 750 jobs, Caerphilly and Powys are among councils that have already announced staff cuts. Davies said 20 authorities had also reported falling incomes from a reduction in the number of planning applications and drops in the value of asset sales.
He said councils were ‘working vigorously to strike the right balance between protecting public services and ensuring that no further financial burden is put on to communities when they are already finding it hard to make ends meet’.
The Welsh Assembly Government funding settlement for councils for 2009/10 is £3.9bn in core funding, representing an average rise of 2.9%. The WAG forecasts that £500m savings would have to be found within departmental budgets for Wales as part of the £5bn Whitehall efficiency drive.
WLGA finance spokesman Rodney Berman said spending cuts would require ‘tough choices’ for the Assembly and the One Wales coalition government
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