Cyngor Gwynedd to address a funding gap of £8.8 million

Date: 31/01/2025

Gwynedd Councillors are committed to protecting the most vulnerable and the services that matter most to the county’s residents as they set a budget for 2025/26.

Like other councils across Wales, budgets in Gwynedd have been eroded as Cyngor Gwynedd does not receive sufficient money from Welsh Government to fund public services. But the Authority has committed to protect the funding available to Gwynedd's school budgets and to invest in services relied upon by the most vulnerable people within the county, including safeguarding and supporting vulnerable children, services for disabled children and social services for adults.

Having received poor financial settlements from Welsh Government, over the past decade Cyngor Gwynedd has already been forced to cut almost a quarter of its day-to-day revenue budget, which is  around £74 million. This has been achieved by identifying more cost-effective ways of working and introducing new ways of delivering services.

Despite careful financial planning year on year, which has seen budgets for local services slashed, Cyngor Gwynedd Councillors will have no choice but to increase the Council Tax for the year ahead.

A proposal has been presented to Gwynedd Councillors to implement a combination of plans to increase income, reduce resources or merge services to do everything possible to keep the Council Tax as low as possible for citizens.

Councillor Huw Wyn Jones, Cyngor Gwynedd's Cabinet Member for Finance, said:

"None of us have chosen to enter local politics to cut services and raise more taxes, but unfortunately due to a lack of adequate funding from the Welsh Government, this is the only option to enable the Council to set a legitimate budget for 2025/26.

"During the discussions we have already held, we have agreed a package of measures to protect the funding available to Gwynedd's school budgets and to invest in services relied upon by the most vulnerable people in the county.

“We have also committed to reduce waiting times for care and to support the independent companies which provide care services on behalf of the Council to meet the demands of the increase in National Insurance costs.

“We are very pleased that we are able to protect these areas, but unfortunately we will have nor option other than to increase the Council Tax so that we can set a balanced and legitimate budget.”

There are three reasons for the funding gap facing Cyngor Gwynedd:

  • A continued increase in demand for key services provided for the people of Gwynedd, such as adult care services, children’s care services and waste services;
  • Increased costs facing the Council, for example the Westminster Government's policy of increasing employer National Insurance contributions has resulted in an increase of up to £4.5 million in staffing costs for Cyngor Gwynedd;
  • The Welsh Government does not provide Cyngor Gwynedd with sufficient funds to meet these demands. Of the 22 local Councils in Wales, Cyngor Gwynedd received the second lowest settlement for 2025/26.

Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Leader of Cyngor Gwynedd, added:

"We have been warning the Government for a long time that a lack of funding year on year is putting the services available to our residents at stake, and we call on them to fund local councils fairly. Again this year, we have no option but to cut services and increase the tax.

“We are doing everything we can to keep the Council Tax increase as low as possible but without a fair Government funding we have no choice. I am concerned that increasing Council Tax once again will put pressure on households and I remind people that there is support available for those who are struggling, as well as a comprehensive package of support to help people cope with the cost of living crisis.

"We anticipate that the Council will overspend by £8.3 million this year, with 83% of this sum in adults and children's care. It is important that we make the point absolutely clear that that this situation is caused by the shortfall in the funding we receive from the Government. Put simply, the amount we receive from the Government does not reflect the increase in demand and costs, and in most cases, there is no option for us not to provide those services.

 

"It is heartbreaking to hear the stories behind these figures, for example, the overspend in children's social services has worsened significantly over the last year and has increased from £2.6 million to £3.7 million, largely as a result of increased cost of child placement and the increase in the complexities of care packages. Although spending on homelessness has decreased over the past year, we are still spending £5 million this year on an emergency accommodation service."

Following detailed analysis, Gwynedd Councillors will agree on a final budget at the Full Council meeting on 6 March when they must consider raising Council Tax by 8.23% and approving savings and cuts to the value of £519,000.

Support is available for members of the public who are concerned about their financial situation – visit Cyngor Gwynedd's website: www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/CostOfLivingCrisis 

Notes

Cyngor Gwynedd anticipates that it will receive £3.5 million from the Welsh Government towards the additional costs of National Insurance, although no confirmation of this will be received until the summer, well after setting the budget and commencing payment of the increased rate of employer contributions towards National Insurance.

Cyngor Gwynedd's contribution to the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will increase by 0.43%, in addition to the increase in Council Tax.

The next steps in setting Cyngor Gwynedd's budget will be: