Funding for Local Government Announced

Local authorities in Wales will receive £4.2 billion from the Welsh Government in the next financial year to spend on delivering key services.

This includes £2.5m of floor funding, fully funded by the Welsh Government, to ensure no authority has to manage with a reduction of more than 1% in 2019-20.

Every local authority in Wales received their provisional settlements, with Wrexham Council’s budget set to reduce by 0.6%.

Wrexham’s Assembly Member, Lesley Griffiths said: “For nine long years, the Tory Party in Westminster has pursued its failed austerity agenda which has undoubtedly created substantial challenges for the Welsh Government and for local authorities.  Continued cuts have resulted in the Welsh Budget being 5% lower in real terms today than in 2010, meaning there is £800m less to spend on public services.”

“In spite of ongoing austerity and uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the Welsh Government is continuing to use every resource available to mitigate against the cuts and protect the people of Wales.  I welcome the fact the Welsh Government has announced that in the event of additional funding being made available to Wales after the UK Government publishes its Budget at the end of October, local government will be a key priority.”

“Wrexham Council’s provisional settlement is not ideal but it enables councillors to plan for the future and ensure the fundamental public services local residents rely on are protected.”

After the announcement of the final Budget last year, councils were facing the prospect of a 1% reduction in core funding for 2019-20, equivalent to a £43m reduction in cash terms.  However, further allocations have been made to the local government settlement via the revenue support grant resulting in the £43m cut being reduced to less than £13m, which equates to a reduction of 0.3%.

Funding has also been restored to a number of grants local government will benefit from directly, such as £30m for social care and £15m for education.  A series of capital investments have also been announced including £60m set aside for a local authority road refurbishment scheme and £78m for the local transport fund.

Although the allocations are provisional meaning the final settlement may be revised, the figures provide local authorities with a robust base to plan for the upcoming financial years.

Local authorities’ allocations are decided using a formula that takes into account factors including population changes.  The funding formula for calculating the settlements is agreed by Welsh Local Government Association representatives – not solely by the Welsh Government.  A joint Welsh Government and local authority working group is responsible for ensuring the formula is reviewed regularly.