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Final 'tough' spending plans due Councils and schools cash boost
(about 7 hours later)
Final plans on how the Welsh Assembly Government is to spend around £15bn a year for the next three years are due to be unveiled later. Extra money for local councils and to cut class sizes for three-to-seven year olds are the main changes in the Welsh Assembly Government's final budget.
Opposition parties have warned of cuts in services and higher council taxes unless town halls have more cash. Finance Minister Andrew Davies said "real improvements" would result from a further £32m for early years education.
Welsh ministers have said "tough" decisions are needed due to less cash coming to them from the UK Government. Mr Davies said £4.7m extra for councils meant all would receive at least 2% more central cash from April.
Assembly government spending is set to rise from £14.1bn in 2008/2009 to £16.1bn by 2010/11. The Lib Dems said he had "merely tinkered" and warned council taxes would rise and services would be cut.
In his draft budget last November, Finance Minister Andrew Davies announced £3.64bn extra for public services over the three years. Mr Davies said: "The final budget allocates additional funding to local government to ensure that all local authorities will receive an increase in assembly government funding of at least 2% next year, bringing the average increase up to 2.4%."
He promised an extra £1.2bn for health services over the period, with £120m for childcare and £155m on transport. Under his draft plans, Powys was set for a 1% increase, with central funding for Anglesey, Blaenau Gwent, Conwy, Gwynedd and Newport originally due to rise be less than the 2% floor now set by the minister.
DRAFT COUNCIL GRANT RISES Anglesey 1.1%Blaenau Gwent 1.8%Bridgend 3.1%Caerphilly 2.8%Cardiff 2.8%Carmarthenshire 2.8%Ceredigion 2.1%Conwy 1.1%Denbighshire 2.3%Flintshire 2.5%Gwynedd 1.9%Merthyr Tydfil 2.5%Monmouthshire 2.1%Neath Port Talbot 2.1%Newport 1.8%Pembrokeshire 2%Powys 1%Rhondda Cynon Taf 2.4%Swansea 2.3%Torfaen 2%Wrexham 2.4%Vale of Glamorgan 3.6%All Wales 2.3%Draft percentage local council grant settlement rises. Source: Welsh Assembly Government In a statement Mr Davies said that he wanted more efficiency from authorities.
But much attention was focused on the deal for local government. "We will be working with local government to simplify funding arrangements, target areas of underperformance and develop minimum standards of service delivery across Wales," he said.
One council, Powys, will receive a 1% rise in its grant from Cardiff Bay, unless there are changes. Mr Davies said a further £14m in the financial year 2009/10 and £18m in 1010/11 to cut class sizes meant there was "substantial new investment in Welsh schools which will deliver real improvements in early years education, where the long-term benefits are greatest".
The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has warned of higher council tax bills but with local authority elections in May, some may be tempted to cut services rather than present voters with increased demands close to polling day. He said that over the next three years, assembly government spending would reach £16bn, more than double the £7bn when the assembly was created in 1999.
But the precise details of what each council will actually receive will not be contained in the budget document. The changes, he said, resulted from consulting "widely" on the financial proposals.
That breakdown is expected to be published in a week's time. 'Potentially catastrophic'
Councillors will then be able to take final decisions on how much to spend on services and how much council taxes should rise to help pay for them. Welsh ministers had warned "tough" decisions were needed due to less cash coming to them from the UK Government.
But Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Jenny Randerson said the government had "merely tinkered to offset the worst aspects" of the local government deal.
Ms Randerson said the councils who were set for increases below 2% had gone from a "potentially catastrophic situation" to one which is "merely...very bad".