Planned council tax rise reduced in Monmouthshire

A proposed council tax rise in Monmouthshire has been reduced from 4.95 per cent to 3.89 per cent following a public consultation.

The increase proposed as part of Monmouthshire council’s draft budget faced opposition in a consultation, with 87.9 per cent of those who responded disagreeing with the proposal.

“The most frequent response was an expression of anger and disbelief that, at a time many have been furloughed or lost their jobs, an increase in council tax was ill-timed and unfair,” a report on the public consultation said.

Final budget plans which are to be considered by the council’s cabinet next week propose a 3.89 per cent increase instead.

This would cost the council £608,000 in reduced council tax income.

But a council report says that further savings have been identified and funding confirmed by the Welsh Government has allowed the authority to make changes to the draft proposals.

A proposal to use £748,000 from the council’s reserves to meet pressures in the budget is also no longer needed in the final proposals.

Other changes and additional pressures in the budget include a £300,000 earmarked investment to enhance the council’s digital design, innovation and data analytics capabilities and a £207,500 investment in the council’s procurement capability.

A £103,000 investment will also be made to ensure apprentices are paid the real living wage and £91,000 will be set aside to build further resilience around the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

New funding identified which has allowed the changes includes a £651,000 reduction relating to a pressure in homelessness services after the Welsh Government confirmed grant funding was available.

Savings totalling £548,000 have been found as part of the roll-out of a commissioning strategy, while flexible use of capital receipts has also been used to support investments.

The final budget plans will be considered by the council’s cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday, before going to full council for approval.