The leader of Neath Port Talbot Council is calling for residents to sign a petition to the Welsh Parliament asking for more money for the local authority, to avoid even higher bills next year. The online petition has been set up to draw attention to the "unprecedented demand" on "already strained" council services in the county - and the fear council tax bills may have to rise to meet the cost
The "Allocate additional funding to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council to ensure its sustainability" petition, which is listed on the official Senedd Petitions site and has more than 400 signatures so far (enough to be considered by the Petitions Committee), explains: "The sustainability of the local government services delivered across Neath Port Talbot will be significantly challenged if additional Government funding is not provided.
"The ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine are creating an unprecedented demand on already strained council services. We estimate a shortfall of £5million for 2022-23 and a further £20million for 2023-24. Our communities are struggling with the cost of living crisis and any increase in council tax must be avoided." You can get more Neath and Port Talbot news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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The petition continues: "We require sufficient additional resources for the Council to continue to support our communities through these crises, maintain the essential services that people rely upon and to bring about long term improvements in the environmental, cultural, social and economic wellbeing of our residents.
"Without these monies, the only alternative is to cut jobs and services, undermining democratic accountability if services are lost to the private or third sectors and depleting reserves. After over a decade of austerity measures, there are no soft options left. The education of our children and young people, care and support for children and vulnerable people (including those who are homeless, refugees or asylum seekers), maintenance of the public realm and wider Council services will be degraded.
"Local government terms and conditions will fall further behind public and private sector comparators compounding the challenges of resourcing our organisation in a highly competitive labour market."
The petition comes after several councillors from Neath Port Talbot called for help with the rising cost of energy this year, after it was revealed that the authority was facing an estimated £8m hike in bills. The council said it c urrently pays just over £5m for its electricity and gas contracts each year, but now fears the figure could rise to more than £13m in 2023/24 an increase of 162%. You can read more on this here and for more stories about Neath Port Talbot Council, go here.
'Local governments need to be funded properly - or it will be extremely difficult to support our communities'
Urging people to sign and support the petition, the leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, Stephen Hunt, told WalesOnline: "I believe the petition says it all but I just want to reiterate the importance of getting everyone to support Neath Port Talbot County Borough (NPTCBC) Council by signing this petition - if we are going to provide excellent services and keep council tax from any further rises then we need the Welsh Government to provide us here in NPTCBC with the best financial settlement so we are able to fund our services properly going forward.
"[Things] are very tough: Cost of Living Crisis, energy costs, inflation and pay awards will all play a major factor in needing the Welsh Government to provide the funding needed. We appreciate the other 21 local authorities are in the same position, but Local Government needs to be funded properly by Welsh Government or we will find it extremely difficult to support our communities through health and wellbeing, education etc," he added.
Mr Hunt made further comments to his followers on his social media page - if you'd like to be kept up to date with news and information from Mr Hunt, you can follow him on Facebook here. He wrote: "We are all aware of the impact the Cost of Living Crisis is having in our communities. The deteriorating economic situation is already impacting in-year on Council budgets and the outlook for future years, based on current intelligence, is very concerning.
"There will be more detail in the revenue budget monitoring report that will be considered by the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet mid-October which will start the work we need to do between now and Christmas to develop a budget for next year but also a financial strategy that will take us forward into future years.
"The leader of the WLGA [Welsh Local Government Association] has described the situation as 'austerity on steroids' - a phrase that captures the seriousness of the position. It has always been important for local government to make out its case for fair funding. After 12 years of austerity and two years of a global pandemic there are no soft options left in local government budgets. We must work together to ensure we have the strongest voice for our communities as we move into the budget setting period."
The petition already has enough signatures to be considered by the Petitions Committee, but needs 10,000 to be considered for a debate in the Senedd. If you'd like to sign this petition, you can do so here.
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