Carmarthenshire County Council's proposed budget cuts

Carmarthenshire County Council is set to face a significant shortfall in its budget for the forthcoming financial year after the rate of inflation failed to fall as quickly as expected and the higher than anticipated pay awards for council workers and teachers and increased demand for social services, adult care and child care services.

The council needs to bridge a shortfall of more than £22million in its 2024/25 budget, with the figure being more finalised after the Welsh Government announced a below-inflation funding settlement of 3.3 per cent.

The Welsh Government’s revenue support grant (RSG) makes up around three-quarters of the council’s funding, with the remaining quarter mainly coming from council tax – which comes in at around £100 million a year.

The council has said that the 3.3 per cent rise in the RSG falls ‘well short’ of the contribution needed from the Welsh Government to allow the council to keep the services provided like they are presently.

The council has to set a balanced annual budget to ensure that its expenditure is covered by income from sources such as the RSG, council tax, paid-for services and grants.

It means that the council now has to make a number of difficult decisions and wants residents to have their say on plans to save money across all council services.

There are 11 proposals in total which include:

• Plans to apply a council-wide staff vacancy factor of between two and two and a half per cent to departmental budgets. This means that each department would be responsible for delivering its services with between 98 per cent and 97.5 per cent of the current staffing budget and would do so by holding enough jobs vacant to achieve the savings over the course of the financial year. The council says that this will help protect the services being delivered from permanent cuts but would have an impact on the responsiveness of the service. The council says that this will not affect grant funded posts (around 10-20 per cent of roles, depending on specific services). If this is not adopted, there would be a planned increase in council tax of 1.79 per cent.
• Proposal to change opening hours and days of the four household waste recycling centres (Trostre, Nantycaws, Wernddu and Whitland). It will see all sites only open up to eight hours per day and could see the number of days open each week reduced to a minimum of five days. It is believed that this will save £73,000 over three years and if not adopted, there would be a 0.07 per cent council tax increase.
• Proposal to change blue bag and food bin liner access. This proposal will see blue bags and food liners delivered at the start of the year but extras will not be made available at the Hwbs. Anyone with a genuine need for more – such as large families – would have to contact the authority. The change would see around £140,000 saved each year and if this is not implemented, it would lead to a 0.13 per cent council tax increase.
• A proposal to save £48,000 over three years relates to altering school crossing patrols. Currently, the council has 42 school crossing patrol sites, with crossing patrol officers paid for the limited hours they patrol on school days. The council says that only 30 of the 42 sites meet the criteria for having a school crossing patrol and plans to remove 12 of the school crossing patrols. If this is not adopted, then there is a planned 0.04 per cent council tax increase.
• A plan to end school transport appeals panel would lead to a three-year saving of £33,000 according to the council. Currently the local authority decides on the success of the free school transport applications based on the Welsh Government’s eligibility criteria. If an application is refused, there is a two-step appeal process but the council proposal would see this come to an end, with the decision based on the Welsh Government’s criteria being the final say. If not adopted, there would be a 0.03 per cent council tax increase. 
• A plan to cut free transport to school for post-16 students would save around £712,000 over three years. The proposal is set to come into play in the 25/26 academic year. This transport is not a statutory requirement. If not implemented, there will be a 0.4 per cent council tax increase.
• Changing the school transport eligibility review will save £38,000 over three years according to the council. The council has to provide free home to school transport for learners of compulsory primary school age who live two miles or more from their nearest suitable primary school and secondary school pupils who live three or more miles away from their nearest suitable secondary school. Currently the council offers a choice od transport to designated catchment schools as well as the nearest schools and the proposal would see transport only offered to a learner’s catchment school, maintaining the choice to attend a school of their language preference. If not adopted, there would be a 0.03 per cent council tax increase.
• The council proposed to try and find ways to transfer 14 of the 19 local authority managed public toilets across the county. If this is not successful, then the council plans to close them. This does not include any that have changing places provision. The council believes this will see a three-year saving of £210,000 and if not met, would see a 0.19 per cent increase in council tax.
• The council has now decided it is not sustainable to safeguard the delegated school budget. The total education budget is £136million and if altered, the planned £3,454,000 saving would be 2.5 per cent of the overall budget. The council proposes to reduce the budget in line with council services. The governing bodies will be responsible for trying to manage with less resources. The level of reduction in the budget is thought to work out to around £120 per learner. If not adopted, there will be a 3.08 per cent rise in council tax.
• The council proposes to save £500,000 over three years by altering the youth support service by reviewing how it is delivered, removing the core funding for the service could lead to a restructure, alternative youth club provision, reduction in school-based youth work and reduction in contributions to third sector youth organisations. If not adopted, the council tax could increase by 0.45 per cent.
• The council proposes to remove the core funding for the music service to save £285,000 over three years. This would leave the service reliant on service level agreements with schools and available grants. If not adopted, there would be a 0.25 per cent council tax increase.

There is also a proposal to increase the overall council tax contributions between six and 10 per cent which could reduce the necessity for the previous proposals.

Cllr Alun Lenny, the council’s cabinet member for resources, said: “Last year I said that in common with other Welsh local authorities, it was the worst financial budget in Carmarthenshire County Council’s history. I am sorry to say that this year is worse still.

“Despite the 3.3% increase settlement by Welsh Government, the council is once more faced with a substantial budget shortfall as inflation has fallen more slowly than expected. Coupled with this, pay settlements and social care costs have increased significantly.

“These financial pressures are unprecedented, and we are being forced into a course of action due to circumstances that are out of our hands.

“Examples of the financial pressures local authorities are facing include a 1.5% consolidated increased pay rise for teachers in September 2022, and again this year. This was fully funded by the Welsh Government in 2023/24, but not for the coming year. This will cost the council almost an extra £3 million, which wipes out more than a quarter of the increase in Welsh Government funding.

“For some years now, Carmarthenshire County Council has been proud to pay the Real Living Wage as recognition of the hard work done by staff on lower pay, many of whom deliver essential frontline services. This is set centrally, and an inflation-led pay increase of more than 10% to £12 an hour means that the local authority has to add £6m to next year’s budget to meet the increased costs.”

He continued: “We have been through our financed with a fine-tooth comb, and are determined to do our utmost to protect our frontline services as much as possible. But we have to make very difficult decisions in setting a legal budget, and must look to make savings across all the services provided by us as a council. This is a very painful and often depressing exercise for all concerned.

“As local councils, we have suffered more than a decade of year upon year cuts to our funding. In real terms, in Carmarthenshire, our funding position is more than £100million worse off than we were a decade ago.”

The council has launched an online survey where people can share their views on the proposals. It can be viewed at https://www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales/home/council-democracy/consultation-performance/have-your-say/budget-consultation-2024/ or paper copies can be obtained from the Ammanford, Carmarthen or Llanelli Hwbs. The consultation will close on January 28.