Have your say on 2022-23 budget
Posted on Friday 14th January 2022
Newport City's Council's Cabinet has today put forward a proposed budget for the coming year that sees investment in key council services.
Among the proposals is up to £8 million for schools and education, plus investment in preventative and support services that will benefit some of our most vulnerable residents.
In late December, the council received its draft settlement from Welsh Government - a grant that makes up over three-quarters of the council's budget. An increase of 10.2 percent has had a positive effect on the opportunities for investing in services.
Councillor Jane Mudd, Leader of Newport City Council, said: "We were grateful for a positive draft settlement from Welsh Government, which recognised the essential role that local authorities play within communities.
"We have worked hard to determine how we can best use the budget available to us to support our residents, strengthen our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and continue the growth of our city.
"The council provides over 800 services for 151,000 people living in more than 65,000 households. After many years of austerity and no choice but to cut services, it is great to be able to invest in the most important areas this year.
"However, with the impact of Covid-19 on businesses, the economy, employment and health, we are seeing the demand for support-based services continue to rise and these plus other priorities have to be carefully considered.
"We have set out our strategic aims with a focus on the communities that have been impacted most by Covid-19 and ensuring we support our economy to rebuild.
"Schools and students have also been hit particularly hard over the last two years and have done an amazing job in adapting and continuing to deliver education. The proposals include an increase in budgets that will benefit every school and student."
The draft budget also proposes a council tax rise of 3.7 per cent, which is less than the rate of inflation and equates to a weekly increase of between 59p and 79p for properties in house bands A to C, the most common bands in Newport.
Councillor Mudd added: "Although council tax makes up less than one-quarter of the council's budget, we fully appreciate that it represents a considerable bill for residents. Our aim is to keep the council tax rate in Newport one of the lowest in Wales - a position we have maintained for many years."
A public consultation is now underway and will run until Friday 11 February.
Further information and the opportunity to have your say on the proposals is available at Budget 2022-2023 | Newport City Council
Feedback from the consultations will be considered by Cabinet at the February meeting.