Council aims for 2024/25 budget protecting jobs and vital services …

Despite soaring energy costs, inflation-related pay pressures and unprecedented demands on services, Neath Port Talbot Council hopes to deliver a balanced 2024/25 budget with no significant cuts to services and no substantial staff job losses.

In setting its 2024/25 budget, the council faces one of the most difficult financial situations in its history – £20m in new cost pressures due to inflation, cost of living and other factors but the prospect of only an estimated extra £8m in Welsh Government funding.

Welsh Government funding will be announced next week as part of the Provisional Local Government settlement.

As a result, every section of the council’s many service areas have been looked at in detail as part an ongoing, comprehensive cost cutting and efficiencies programme to save millions of pounds in order to reach a balanced budget.

These have involved a wide range of actions including a cut in the number of council buildings, better technology use, maximising savings from hybrid working and even a proposed turning off or dimming of street lighting in some areas to cut energy costs (this will go out to public consultation soon).

Here are just some of the pressures the council is facing:

Homelessness – Numbers in temporary accommodation have increased from 313 in 2019-20 to 832 in 2023-24. Without intervention, it’s estimated this will increase to around 2,233 people in 2027-28. In cost terms this would see an increase from £2.6m in 2023-24 to £4.4m in 2027-28.

Children’s Social Services – At the beginning of January 2023 there were 1,272 children and young people receiving some level of support from the council. Contacts to the service were 2,209 in that month, compared with only 1,435 in April 2021.

Adult Social Services – New contacts to the service were 9,265 in 2022-23 compared with 6,259 in 2018-19. Demand is projected to rise further given the population is ageing and the number of people living with dementia is expected to double in 20 years.

Education – Covid-19 and the policies implemented to protect the NHS and save lives has had a significant impact on children and young people. Many experienced anxiety returning to school, have struggled with social isolation with adverse impacts on their emotional wellbeing.

Leisure and Culture – Participation levels are slowly recovering but income levels remain below pre-pandemic levels. Given the significant pressures across statutory services and functions, there is greater pressure to reduce deficits and subsidies further leading to a delay in the move to take leisure service in-house from Celtic Leisure.

On December 20th, 2023, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet will be recommended to go out to public consultation on its 2024/25 budget proposals, the consultation, if approved, to begin immediately after the meeting and ending on January 10th 2024. Responses will be reviewed prior to presenting a final budget for 2024/25 at Cabinet and Council on 21st and 28th February 2024 respectively

The budget strategy for 2024/25 is based on the following key objectives:

Maintaining a clear focus on recovery from Covid-19 – There are exceptional pressures across the council due to the Covid-19 response, including higher demand/need in social services, housing and education plus an increase in the complexity of need.
Facilitating and Enabling Economic Growth – The council successfully established the Celtic Freeport partnership this year attracting seed capital of £25m and potentially £0.5bn in retained business rates. There is also the multi-million pound Afan Valley Adventure Resort, the GCRE rail innovation centre, a £28m Shared Prosperity Fund investment programme plus ongoing delivery of the City Deal programme. The council has won four Levelling Up fund (LUF) bids, the most recent being £27m for transforming of Port Talbot Town Centre and the Newbridge Bridge project.,
Delivering local and Welsh Government policy priorities – Welsh Government has set out an extensive programme of policy commitments that will impact on councils and the council’s administration also has its own policy priorities which are being implemented and which will feature in an updated Corporate Plan that will be presented to Council in March 2024.
Ensuring a sustainable Council – Over the medium term, the council must pursue a robust strategy to transform the way services and functions are delivered within a clearly defined framework of priorities, whilst also ensuring financial sustainability and good governance.

The Chief Fire Officer has once again presented an increase in the Mid and West Wales Fire Authority Levy above the rate of inflation at between 7% and 9%. Funding by the Welsh Government’s settlement in relation to the Fire Service is wholly inadequate meaning that any rises in the levy fall entirely on the taxpayers of Neath Port Talbot. Assuming the levy is at the lower end i.e. 7% that equates to another 1% increase in council tax for 2024/25.

Any Council Tax rise will be dependent on the Welsh Government’s provisional settlement due to be announced next week.