Conwy County Borough Council has been handed one of the largest cuts in this year’s Local Government Settlement.

The Council faces a cut of 1% to their budget for 2018-19, along with Powys, Monmouthshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent.

The only local authority to see a rise was Cardiff, who will receive an increase of 0.2%.

Janet Finch-Saunders AM, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Assembly Member for Aberconwy, said:

“The Cabinet Secretary’s funding floor protects local authorities from cuts of more than 1%, so this really is the maximum reduction he could have handed down to Conwy.

“This cut is hugely disappointing from the Welsh Government.

“It is therefore essential that proper financial management and scrutiny is undertaken by the council – our elected councillors must challenge and test all spend to ensure waste and red tape is reduced where possible.

“It is also vital that forward planning, in terms of financial agreements, is undertaken in a prudent way.

“With £21m in LOBOs set to cost Conwy County Borough Council over £76m over the term of the loans – an increase of over 360%, council taxpayers have every reason to be concerned.

“I urge the council to ensure that this cut is not simply passed on to council taxpayers, who will be rightly worried at the prospect of further council tax increases, alongside reductions in vital services, such as bin collections.”