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Newport budget proposals – have your say

Newport City Council’s cabinet has considered the budget for 2023/24 and how services will need to change in the face of a major financial challenge.

A public consultation on a series of proposals will be launched tomorrow (15 December) and will run until 2 February 2023.

Councillor Jane Mudd, Leader of the council said: “With a budget gap of £27.6 million, there will be many difficult decisions to be made.

“We welcome the draft local government settlement from Welsh Government, received earlier today, which accounts for more than three-quarters of our budget. But the issues of fair funding for Wales run much deeper.

“While the settlement is positive, it is not sufficient to plug the entire gap. It will provide some opportunity to consider the most unpalatable proposals, but like most councils in Wales, we still find ourselves in the unenviable position of having to change the way we deliver not just back-office, but front-line services. Quite simply, demand and costs are outweighing the money available.

“This also comes after many years of austerity when we faced real-term budget cuts. Newport City Council has already implemented over £90m of savings since 2011 so there are few choices left.”

“And added to that, two thirds of the council’s budget is spent on schools, education and social care – the absolutely essential services, where savings are very difficult to make.”

At the Cabinet meeting, Councillor Mudd set out the position regarding funding for schools:

“We remain committed to our schools and supporting them to deliver the best education for our pupils – that is why we waited for the draft settlement and therefore a clearer picture before presenting the school funding proposals.

“We know they are also facing significant cost increases and want to protect them as best we can, but because of the extent of the financial challenge, we can’t shield them completely.

“We will consult on a proposal where we provide additional funding to schools meaning an overall increase in the cash value of the total school budget.

“It will cover the cost impact of increasing pupil numbers and 50 per cent of the identified pay-related pressures. This means that schools will be required to absorb the balance of pay pressures and any other inflationary increases in costs.“

Council Tax was also discussed with recognition of the impact it has on all households:

“One area of the budget where it is always hard to strike the balance is council tax. Although it contributes less than a quarter towards the total budget, we understand that it is a considerable outgoing for our residents.

“Newport has consistently had one of the lowest council tax rates in Wales – however much we might not want to do it, we have to consider raising it. Even with a considerable rise we would expect overall bills to still be very low in comparison to other authorities.

“At this stage, we are considering a rise of 9.5 percent. The majority of Newport households fall in the bands A to C, so this represents an increase of between £1.55 and £2.07 per week.”

Examples of the increasing costs and pressures being faced by the council include:

• Increased fuel and energy costs - gas is 300% higher, electricity is 150% higher. This affects everything from schools to streetlights.
• More demand for care - costs have risen from £43.5m in 2019/20 to a forecast £58m this year.
• Around 1,000 more pupils attending Newport schools in the last three years.
• Linked to the challenges of the pandemic, more emergency placements for children looked after. A forecast cost of £2.2m in 2022/23 compared to £300k in 2019/20.
• Inflation rates of around 10% are increasing the cost of all services and supplies bought by the council.
• The council provides over 800 services for 155,000 people living in more than 65,000 households. With the impact of Covid-19 and now the cost-of-living crisis on individuals, businesses, the economy, employment, and health, we are seeing the demand for support-based services continue to rise.

Proposals for 2023/24 are available to view at www.newport.gov.uk/budget where you can also find out more about where the council’s funding comes from and the general budget challenge.

Representations can also be made in writing to Freepost POLICY AND PARTNERSHIP TEAM, Newport City Council, Civic Centre, Newport NP20 4UR or via email to [email protected]  

The public consultation will run until 2 February 2023. All representations will be considered when cabinet meet again on February 14 when they will make their final recommendations on the overall budget for 2023/24.