Band D households in Newtown will now pay more than £2,000 per annum for their council tax from April after a 5% rise was agreed by Powys County Council yesterday.

Yesterday, county councillors met to set a £326 million budget to fund local services from April 2023 till March 2024.

The county council set to receive an 8.7% increase in funding from the Welsh Government, which equates to just under £18.3million and will see the council’s funding from the Welsh Government rise £228.388 million. The remainder will come from council tax, grants and fees.

Despite the increases the council still needs to make around £16.4 million in cuts, savings and efficiencies next year.

The 5% increase in Council Tax, which is split between 1.2% for the Fire Authority Levy and 3.8% for the county council, will cost the average band D Council Tax payer an extra £1.40 a week. 3 weeks ago we reported that Police & Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn agreed a 7.75% increase in the police precept and last month, the town council opted for a 2.5% increase.

Adding together all these figures up, the increases will see residents paying at least £63.83 more a year, depending on your band.

A full breakdown of each band for Newtown residents is below:

Cllr Joy Jones, Powys Anti-Poverty Champion, raised concerns that the 5% increase would tip many people over the financial edge. She said:

“I understand the council needs to pay for services but I would like to remind you how people are suffering with all the increases in fuel, energy and food prices that are affecting them.

“People are suffering and we’re seeing full and overloaded foodbanks.

“I know that some of my residents are entitled to help to pay for their council tax. But there are so many working families who are just above the limit and will be pushed into poverty by the time they have paid council tax.

“This is so concerning to see how poverty is becoming a blight to our society. I need to make this point clear – everything we do does affect our residents.”

 

Cllr David Thomas, Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation, said:

"A better than anticipated local government settlement has allowed the council to keep the Council Tax increase to a minimum despite unprecedent financial pressures.

"Despite the increased funding, this has been the most difficult budget-setting process the county council has ever experienced. The combination of high inflation, increased demand for social care, staff pay and funding post-Covid-19 recovery, has created an extremely difficult position.

"Our priority throughout the budget-setting process was to protect services, particularly those that support people at the most difficult of times.  This has been achieved by working together, enabling the council to set a balanced budget.

"Today's budget approval will ensure our schools receive all the additional funding provided by the settlement, resulting in an additional £5.5m in investment in education. We will also provide an extra £500,000 to provide energy support to schools.

"Every budget includes a mix of essential growth to fund services and reductions. Despite an overall increase in this year's budget, we have identified more than £16m in reductions by delivering services more efficiently or at reduced cost.

"We are continuing work to convert streetlights to more efficient LED lights and reducing staff travelling through digital ways of working, reducing costs and cutting the council's carbon footprint.

"However, the Council Tax increase was needed to balance our budget and put us on a sound footing for the coming financial year. We have tried to limit the impact on the people of Powys by keeping the increase below inflation as everyone is feeling the impact of the cost of living crisis."