Considerations in setting the budget
Other key factors shaping the budget have been:
Demand on council services
Demand on services across the council has continued to increase and remains at very high levels. More people are seeking help and support following the pandemic, many with more complex needs. These are particularly in:
- housing and homelessness services
- adult and children’s social services
- education
Inflation
The continuing rise in the costs to the council to deliver services due to inflation with rates increasing by up to 7%.
Other organisations
The contributions the council pays to other organisations have also increased. Over the last two years, the council has had to find an extra £2.8m to keep indoor leisure services running. In addition, the annual payment which we are required to make to the Mid & West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has increased by £877,000 (9.4%), making the total payment this year £10.8m.
Future budgets
Acknowledging that future budgets in high-demand service areas will continue to be challenging, we need to develop innovative solutions to respond to the needs of our communities. Several invest-to-save proposals to help reduce demand in future years have been included in this year’s budget.
Funding gap
All of this means that in 2024-2025 the council is faced with new cost pressures of around £30m. However, the additional funding the council has received from the Welsh Government for 2024-2025 of £8.6m falls considerably short of what we need to continue delivering vital services. This means that in this year’s budget, the council needs to find ways to deal with a funding gap of over £21m.