NPT Budget Consultation 2024-25 – What you told us…
Final decisions on the 2024-25 budget for Neath Port Talbot were made by the Cabinet on Wednesday 6 March, and a meeting of the full Council on Thursday 7 March 2024. You can read more about the budget at www.npt.gov.uk/budgetandspending, and you can also read the full budget report.
All in all, the views of more than 2,500 people were considered in relation to the budget setting process, from talking to people about what matters to them through our “Let’s Keep Talking” engagement campaign, and again from people who responded to the public consultation in the run up to setting the final budget.
Thank you all for your feedback. Here are some of the things you told us…
Budget Consultation Questionnaire Responses
From 20 December 2023 to 10 January 2024, we ran a public consultation on our draft budget proposals for 2024-25. We received 556 completed questionnaires.
What we heard
Social Services Specific Reserves
We asked how people feel about the proposal to use £6.8 million from specific reserves to address funding pressures in Social Services and help balance the budget in 2024-25. 514 people answered this question:
- of the 350 respondents who agree or strongly agree with the proposal some of the main themes for why they agree included:
- comments about the importance of Social Services and providing support for those who need it.
- views that reserves should be used when times are tough.
- views that Social Services are under pressure, need more resources, or should be a priority.
- comments that need/demand is growing (some linking this to the ageing population).
- of the 96 respondents who disagree or strongly disagree with the proposal some of the main themes for why they disagree included:
- needing more information or having more questions about the proposal
- views that Social Services spending/resources should be managed within the available budget.
- negative comments about the current level/availability of service.
- views that Social Services pressures should be funded by the Welsh or UK Governments.
Council Tax
We asked how supportive people would be of a Council Tax rise to help protect/avoid cuts to services provided by the council. 540 people answered this question:
- of the 130 respondents who indicated they would be supportive or very supportive, 90 (69%) gave reasons for their response. Some of the main themes for why they would be supportive included:
- to protect services.
- that a rise was to be expected as the cost of everything has increased.
- they would support a small or affordable rise.
- concerns were raised about the increased cost of living pressures.
- views that the council must find efficiencies/savings/income to keep the increase to a minimum.
- of the 391 respondents who indicated they would be unsupportive or fairly unsupportive, 289 (74%) gave reasons for their response. Some of the main themes for why they would be unsupportive included:
- views that people are already paying enough/too much.
- concerns that an increase will add to the current cost-of-living pressures.
- views that people are not getting value for money / being asked to pay more for less.
- views that the council should save money elsewhere or generate income.
The Budget strategy
We set out 4 key objectives that the draft budget strategy is based on were outlined and respondents were asked to indicate to what extent they agree with these. Responses were:
- People were invited to expand on their responses to the question on key objectives and the following themes emerged:
- there was generally a high level of support for the four proposed areas of focus.
- a number of respondents questioned whether or how closely Welsh Government policy priorities aligned with local priorities and needs.
- there were also a number of comments suggesting that COVID-19 should now be behind us, suggesting a lack of awareness of the ongoing impact.
Other suggestions
We asked for any other suggestions on how the council can reduce the budget gap. The main themes were:
- suggestion around reducing the costs associated with / numbers of higher paid council staff.
- sell/rent/streamline council buildings, land, or other assets.
- efficiency savings/preventing waste.
- income generation.
- suggestions for energy efficiency / greener ways of working
Who we heard from
- 96% (523) of respondents said they were residents of Neath Port Talbot
- 1% (6) were aged under 25; just over a quarter 29% (129) were aged 60 years or above, and 64% (284) were between 25-59 years.
- 50% (217) said they were Female; 42% (182) were Male; and 1% (2) were Non-binary.
Let’s Keep Talking Responses
Our ‘Let’s Keep Talking’ engagement campaign ran from 29 June to 8 October 2023. During that time we asked people what matters to them using focus groups, meetings, events and questionnaires.
We received 1,657 completed questionnaires, 30 people took part in focus groups and we spoke to 262 people in group discussions at events.
What we heard from the Questionnaire:
What matters to you NOW? Top 10 themes by age group:
| All respondents (*1491) | Under 25s (759) | 25-59 years (407) | 60+ years (255) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friends, family and pets (36% -532) | Friends, family and pets (65%-497) | Cost of living/Inflation (16%-66) | Public transport (19%-49) |
| Leisure activities/ recreational facilities (25% -368) | Leisure activities/ recreational facilities (40%-304) | Health and Wellbeing (14%-55) | A good local economy/ local area/town centre (17%-44) |
| Education/Libraries/ schools (18%-274) | Education/Libraries/ schools incl. school meals (28%-211) | Keeping local area clean (13%-52 | Keeping local area clean (16%-41) |
| Health and Wellbeing (12%-172) | Standard of living/quality of life (9%-68) | Environmental Issues (10%-41) | Health and Wellbeing (16%-41) |
| Keeping local area clean (8%-119) | Health and Wellbeing (9%-67) | Education/Libraries/ schools (10%-41) | Environmental Issues (11%-29) |
| Cost of living/Inflation (8%-115) | Community/Social activities/ events (4%-29) | Leisure activities/recreational facilities (10%-39) | Cost of living/Inflation (10%-26) |
| Environmental Issues (7%-103) | Environmental Issues (3%-26) | Community/Social activities/ events (9%-38) | Pavement and road maintenance/safety (9%-23) |
| A good local economy/local area/town centre (7%-102) | Job/job opportunities (3%-22) | A good local economy/local area /town centre (9%-38) | ASB/crime and policing issues (8%-21) |
| Public transport (6%-94) | Parks and green spaces (3%-21) | Support for elderly/disabled/ vulnerable people (9%-35) |
|
| Standard of living/quality of life (6%-89) | - | General safety issues (9%-35) | - |
What matters to you IN THE FUTURE? Top 10 themes by age group:
| All respondents (*1491) | Under 25s (759) | 25-59 years (407) | 60+ years (255) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job/job opportunities (29% -423) | Job/job opportunities (48% -358) | Cost of living/ Inflation (13% -51) | Health and Wellbeing (18% -44) |
| Friends, family and pets (21% -300) | Friends, family and pets (38% -280) | Environmental Issues (13% -49) | A good local economy/ local area/town centre (17% -41) |
| Education/Libraries/ schools (16% -229) | Education/Libraries/ schools (22% -167) | Health and Wellbeing (13% -49) | Public transport (16% -39) |
| Leisure activities/ recreational facilities (14% -207) | Standard of living/quality of life (22% -160) | Job/job opportunities (12% -48) | Environmental Issues (13% -32) |
| Standard of living/quality of life (13% -187) | Leisure activities/ recreational facilities (21% -153) | A good local economy/ local area/town centre (11% -43) | Keeping local area clean (12% -30) |
| Health and Wellbeing (12% -169) | Health and Wellbeing (10% -71) | Education/Libraries/ schools (9% -36) | Support for elderly/ disabled/ vulnerable people (11% -27) |
| Environmental Issues (9% -134) | Environmental Issues (7% -49) | Keeping local area clean (9% -34) | General safety issues (9% -22) |
| Cost of living/Inflation (8% -118) | Cost of living/ Inflation (6% -47) | Leisure activities/recreational facilities (9% -34) | Education/Libraries /schools (8% -19) |
| A good local economy/ local area/town centre (7% -101) | Funding and the efficient use of money (3% -24) | Support for elderly/ disabled/ vulnerable people (8% -31) |
Pavement and road maintenance/ safety (7% -18) |
|
Keeping local area clean (6% -88) Public transport (6% -82) |
- | Public transport (8% -31) |
ASB/crime and policing issues (6% -15) Leisure activities/ recreational facilities (6% -15) |
What could be done to IMPROVE LIFE? Top 10 themes by age group:
| All respondents (*1491) | Under 25s (759) | 25-59 years (407) | 60+ years (255) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improve leisure and sports facility provision (14% -185) | Improve leisure and sports facility provision (23% -148) | Provide more community events/projects (18% -71) | Improve public transport/ transport in general (26% -72) |
| Improve the cleanliness of the area (13% -183) | Improve the cleanliness of the area (11% -71) | Provide activities and facilities for young people (16% -63) | Improve road and pavement infrastructure (17% -48) |
| Improve public transport/ transport in general (11% -152) | Improve/invest in outdoor spaces, parks and seafront (10% -62) | Improve the cleanliness of the area (15% -60) | Improve the cleanliness of the area (17% -47) |
| Improve/invest in outdoor spaces, parks and seafront (10% -138) | Improve schools and educational services (9% -57) | Generally improve the area/promote the area (15% -59) | Support the elderly/ vulnerable /disabled (13% -37) |
| Provide activities and facilities for young people (10% -137) | Provide activities and facilities for young people (7% -46) | Improve public transport/ transport in general (12% -49) | Generally improve the area/promote the area (11% -30) |
| Provide more community events/projects (10% -130) | Increase the number/quality of shops, cafes and restaurants (6% -41) | Improve/invest in outdoor spaces, parks and seafront (12% -49) | Reduce the amount of crime and ASB (10% -28) |
| Generally improve the area incl. local investment (9% -124) | Provide cost of living support (5% -35) | Improve road and pavement infrastructure (12% -48) | More communication and engagement from the council (10% -27) |
| Improve road and pavement infrastructure (9% -122) | Provide more community events/projects (5% -33) | Reduce the amount of crime and ASB (10% -39) | Improve/invest in outdoor spaces, parks and seafront (9% -26) |
| Support the elderly/ vulnerable/disabled (7% -97) | Generally improve the area/promote the area (5% -31) | Support the elderly/vulnerable /disabled (10% -38) |
Provide activities and facilities for young people (9% -24) |
| Reduce the amount of crime and ASB (7% -93 | Improve job prospects and working conditions (5% -29) | More communication and engagement from the council (9% -36) | Provide more community events/projects (8% -22) |
Who we heard from
- 84% of respondents said they were residents of Neath Port Talbot.
- Over half (57%) of respondents were female, and 42% were male.
- 50% were aged under 25; just over a fifth (22%) were aged 60 years or above, and the remaining 29% were between 25-59 years.
- Notably, 44% (or 681) of the respondents were school children.