January 15, 2020 - 1541 views
Councillors will discuss the provisional settlement in detail next week when Scrutiny Committee members meet to discuss the 2020/21 budget.
Speaking ahead of Monday’s Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Council Leader Cllr Sam Rowlands said: “Since Welsh Government published their funding for local government in December, our Finance Team have been working on the provisional figures to produce a detailed report for councillors to discuss.”
“The indicative budget reflects our priorities, but policies introduced by National Governments have a significant impact on how we allocate our resources.”
“Significant budget reductions are needed to address the increasing demand and pressures on services because Conwy’s grant support has not risen in line with those pressures.”
As it currently stands, Conwy will receive a 3.4% increase in funding from Welsh Government - the second worst settlement in Wales.
Cllr Rowlands said, “I’m disappointed that yet again Conwy and North Wales is not receiving its fair share of funding; four of the lowest five in the settlement are from North Wales - Ynys Mon, Conwy, Flintshire, Wrexham.
"I’ve been working with the other North Wales leaders to lobby for a fairer distribution of funding, and fully support the WLGA’s call to reinstate the funding floor.”
“Despite this, we are looking to continue prioritising our available funding. Our draft budget shows schools receiving over £3.5m extra and social care services, supporting the most vulnerable in our community, an extra £3m.”
Conwy’s final settlement is expected to be announced by Welsh Government at the end of February.
The Council will meet on 5 March to finalise and agree the budget for 2020/21.
