There will be no more cuts to public services and to make that a reality Council Tax will, unfortunately, for Band D properties increase by £13.38 a month – an increase of 9.3%. It includes an 8.7% tax and a 0.6% increase for the Fire Levy.
Once again, the Labour Governments, in Cardiff Bay and Westminster, have not supported local authorities with adequate funding, so the Council must decide how to maintain services within extremely tight finances.
Plaid Cymru's representatives in the Senedd and in Westminster, as well as County Council leaders have repeatedly appealed to the Labour Government to raise their provision to local governments by 7% to maintain services. However, the Minister announced that there will only be a 3.8% increase for Ceredigion this year – the lowest rate. As a result, county councils must either cut extremely valuable services or raise council tax – or as many other counties have decided to do – to raise the tax and make cuts. Cllr Bryan Davies, Leader of the Council said;
"We understand it's an incredibly difficult time for many residents. But the truth is, that local authorities are underfunded.
"Last year, cuts had to be made in 70 County Council services as well as raising the tax by over 11%. This year, we do not want to cut any services. For the benefit of every individual in Ceredigion, services that support the Ceredigion people – particularly the vulnerable and those experiencing financial austerity – must be protected.
"If services needed to be cut, those cuts would have to be within services that do not have to be statutorily provided by the County Council. For example, support for young carers, community connectors, health and wellbeing centres including the NERS scheme, supporting family centres. We don't want to reduce our support for these all-important sectors and their role in the health and well-being of our residents,"
One unexpected element to the increase was because of the impact of the decision by the Chancellor on Employers' National Insurance. The Chancellor's reforms to Employers' National Insurance from April 2025 are a huge burden on the Council. The net financial impact to the Council is expected to be approximately £1.6m.
In addition, cabinet has agreed to a significant £827,000 investment on waste collection and planning enforcement services equal to 1.5% of the council tax increase. Additional collection staff and waste collection lorries will form part of that investment.
The cabinet is also prioritising education services by increasing funding for education and lifelong learning.
Cllr Davies continued;
"We have prioritised the education of our children – the education department will receive additional funding of 8.3% this year. That is higher than the other services we provide and demonstrates our commitment to the highest possible standard of education for our young people. Estyn has said that we have ensured stable, high quality educational provision for learners, but we are aware of the very tight situation within school budgets and the challenges that they face."
During the funding scrutiny meetings held over the past month, the opposition has not brought any plan that does not involve significant cuts to the services the council maintains. Cllr Davies added;
"The independent group asked for all jobs paying a salary in excess of £45,000 a year to be cut, excluding jobs within the education sector. But 72% of jobs within the Council with a salary over £45,000 are in the education department and consequently statutory, so that is not a well thought out or sustainable scheme.
"In addition, in order to cut jobs earning over £45,000 a year that are not statutory, only 40 jobs are valid for cuts and those are non-statutory jobs, they are frontline jobs. Three quarters of our frontline jobs would need to be cut if this proposal was followed."
"We want to commend Plaid Cymru's group of councillors for their work during the scrutiny meetings and their commitment not to cut County Council services further. It is clear to us that spending less now on valuable services within our communities would only lead to fundamental problems and be a greater burden on the public purse in the future."
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