Posted on: Thursday 9 November 2023
Next week, Torfaen councillors will consider the council’s draft budget for 2024/25 and will be asked to make suggestions for potential further savings or areas for review to bridge a funding shortfall of £2.8million.
Torfaen Council’s Executive Member for Resources, Cllr Sue Morgan said: “People will have seen the media coverage on the financial pressures facing many councils. Encouragingly, this report forecasts a reasonable budget position for Torfaen in 2024/25 at this early stage. I am grateful for the robust financial planning across the council which should give everyone reassurance over the council’s financial stability.
“However, we don’t yet know what our funding for 2024/25 will be and we are concerned that funding is unlikely to cover the ongoing impact of inflation and rising demand on services.
“This year our corporate efficiency programme has identified around £5.2m of savings internally so far. We have achieved this through managed reductions in the workforce, reducing our building energy costs and service efficiencies. These savings are already built into next year’s budget to help bridge the funding gap.”
The Leader of Torfaen Council, Cllr Anthony Hunt said: “While we wait for the detail of the UK Government’s Autumn statement and the subsequent Welsh Government settlement in December, this is a well-constructed budget position to present to councillors.
“Based upon assumed 2024/25 funding this report highlights that a projected funding gap of £2.8m still exists, which will still need to be met through further savings or increasing revenue.
“However, we are keen to keep council tax levels as low as possible for residents. In the last 2 years, we’ve achieved two of the lowest council tax rises in the whole UK at 1.95%. This year, to help retain services, we have built this initial budget based on a council tax increase of 4.95%, which is still likely to be lower than average. For now, this figure gives us the scope to help deliver our County Plan priorities by protecting funding for critical services such as schools and family services and avoid damaging service closures.”
To read the report and for further information, visit Browse meetings - Cross-Cutting Resources and Business Overview & Scrutiny Committee | Torfaen County Borough Council