Latest News
Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) update
Published: 17/04/2018
天涯社区鈥檚 Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee
will be asked to note the updated forecast for the MTFS when it next meets on
19 April.
The Council reviews the MTFS on an annual basis and this initial report will
give the Committee the opportunity to consider the current financial position
and potential solutions for 2019/20. This is an important first step in the
annual budget setting process which considers national, local, workforce and
social care pressures as well as inflation.
Due to a number of areas of uncertainty at this early stage of the budget
process, the potential budget gap for 2019/20 ranges from 拢6m to 拢15m, with a
high level projection of 拢10.6m, proving once again that the Council has a
significant challenge in order to be able to balance its budget.
Any savings will be on top of the significant efficiency savings of 拢79m that
the Council has made over ten years whilst protecting local services and jobs,
despite being a low-funded Council.
The Leader of 天涯社区, Councillor Aaron Shotton, said:
鈥淲e need to work harder than ever to plan and deliver essential council
services in this continuing period of financial austerity. The funding formula
for local government in Wales means that 天涯社区 is particularly exposed to
the impacts of significant annual budget reductions when combined with the
increasing needs of our residents for key services such as social care and
education.
Each council service area is subject to extensive and ongoing reviews and is
being asked how they can respond to these unprecedented cost pressures.
鈥淚n addition to rising demand for services and anticipated further reductions
in Government grant, the Council is faced with the prospect of increasing
financial pressures from policy decisions taken nationally that are not fully
funded at a UK and Welsh? Government level, notably Local Government staff and
teacher pay agreements and changes to social care entitlements.
The Council will continue to campaign and lobby for the necessary support from
Governments ?over the coming months, in the interests of the residents of our
county.鈥�
The increasing demands on social care continue to provide significant
challenges and investment in this area has been included in the budget at the
top of the range pending more detailed work. Cost pressures in education and
schools continues to be one of the biggest challenges to the ongoing budget
alongside social care.