Independent Group BUDGET STATEMENT
The Council is required by law to set a balanced budget by 11th March 2024.
Our revenue settlement from Welsh Government increased by only 3.7% or £4.5 million and was announced on the 21st December 2023 only 10 weeks ago.
The budget gap resulting from pressures such as high inflation, pay awards and interest rates, and increasing our borrowing costs sat around £13 million mark.
Although this was clearly a significant amount of money to save, in a very short period of time, we engaged and consulted with you, our residents, and have listened by committing to increase spending on both Education and Social Services by 4.5% and keeping grass sports pitches free to use.
The burden of balancing the budget has put a serious strain across our council’s services, and having exhausted all options, we needed an increase in Council Tax of 8% to meet the shortfall.
This would mean an increase of £1.88 a week for Band A properties, the majority of houses in Merthyr.
No Local Authority can be sustainable without Council Tax receipts, and not agreeing this figure would prevent us from setting a balanced budget.
This, in turn, would result in services ceasing as there would be no provision for staff or contractual payments.
Our ability to perform our statutory responsibilities would be in jeopardy and would have a significant impact on our most vulnerable residents.
In these circumstances, the council would be in effect declaring bankruptcy.
At Full Council on the 28th February, the Labour Group voted unanimously against the rise, knowing they did not have an alternative.
However, they did vote against a circa £2 million saving, which, if reversed, would have resulted in a further 7.1% increase on top of the proposed 8% taking Council Tax to a 15.1% increase.
This was a deliberate and reckless strategy.
The Labour Group’s actions could have been seen as a breach of the Councillor’s Code, and individual members could have been legally pursued for negligence or breach of statutory duty.
At Yesterday’s Full Council, the recommendation was to increase council tax by 8%, which is below the Welsh average.
This was approved by the majority, thirteen councillors voting for, with 16 abstaining.
We see this increase as grossly unfair on the residents of Merthyr, as an Independent Group we call on Members of the Senedd from all parties to review, not only, the unfair Council Tax system but also call upon the UK Treasury and Westminster to review the fiscal investment in Wales and the outdated Barnett consequential.
We believe this would increase the Senedd’s settlement to local authorities that will help support residents with health and education and allow for economic growth to build a stronger Merthyr Tydfil and Wales.
Councillor Andrew Barry, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member responsible for Finance, explained:
“This and the previous Independent Administration have been prudent with the use of our Reserves over the past 6 years.
We have both used and replenished these reserves where appropriate.
We have protected the residents of this County Borough, as best we could, from the economic turmoil that has surrounded us for so long now.”
The Labour Group has demonstrated a complete lack of responsibility and wilful disregard to professional Officer advice to set a lawful balanced budget.
They can never be trusted with the Authority’s finances due to the prudency required to run Merthyr Tydfil CBC.”
Councillor Geraint Thomas, Leader of Merthyr Tydfil CBC, described the Council’s position:
“Make no mistake the Local Government provision, the ’Cradle to Grave’ support which stiches together the social fabric of our society, is critically under threat.
It is blatantly apparent that the financial system that runs from Westminster to Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil is broken. We must all keep lobbying the Senedd and Parliament to improve our funding.
Enough is Enough”
Merthyr Council Cover-up 