Attacking the proposed Powys County Council budget is political point scoring

Councillor Aled Davies, said voting against the budget he is proposing is just political point scoring.

The deadline for opposition groups to present an alternative budget, came and went with none being lodged and scrutiny meetings pencilled in to deal with an alternative budget have been cancelled as no alternative budget emerged.

A joint statement was issued by all the main opposition group leaders asserting their opposition to the Independent/Conservative cabinet draft budget.

Councillor Davies said: “Opposition groups must produce an alternative budget proposal, if they are to retain any credibility, before they entertain the possibility of voting against the budget.

“The only conclusion that I can draw is that they are happy with our proposed budget and are only interested in political point scoring.

“The council has a legal duty to provide a range of statutory services, such as refuse collection, children’s services and education and I do not want those services to be put at risk.

“This budget that I and the cabinet are proposing is robust, it protects and invests in the frontline services while keeping the council tax increase to a minimum. It delivers the real living wage to all care workers who have gone above and beyond through the last two years of the pandemic.”

As part of next year’s budget, £7.7million in savings, cuts and “income generation” need to be made if Powys is to balance their budget by the end of March 2023.

Councillor Davies said an extra £9.2 million will go to Social Services, £5 million to Education and the Highways, Transport and Recycling will receive an extra £2.5 million in his budget.

He was responding to a statement from four opposition group leaders who said Powys deserved better than the budget proposed.

They said it would be "hiking taxes and cutting services, including further cuts to arts and cultural organisations that threatened the future of the whole sector.".

“The 3.9 per cent increase comes despite the fact that the council will receive a record 9.6 per cent increase in its grant from Welsh Government. It also comes at a time of huge increases in the costs of living and a National Insurance tax increase.

“It will be unaffordable for a lot of hard-pressed families in Powys," the statement says.

The budget debate is due to take place on February 24, with the budget officially set at a meeting on Thursday March 3.