A better financial settlement for Ceredigion from the Welsh Government worth millions of pounds, following an agreement with Plaid Cymru, could “reduce the burden of council tax on ratepayers,” local Senedd Member Elin Jones has said.

While council tax makes up a proportion of the council’s annual revenue, a crucial area of funding is the Aggregate External Finance (AEF) rate from Welsh Government.

Ceredigion was to receive a 2.3 per cent increase on its settlement, some £3,388,000 for a total of £150,670,000, placing it at joint 13th of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Now, following a Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru agreement which will allow the budget for 2026-27 to pass there has, amongst other agreements, been additional funding for local government in 2026-27, an extra £112.8m, which provides an overall 4.5 per cent increase to the local government settlement, with all councils receiving increases above 4 per cent.

The agreement, which also includes additional NHS funding, will be reflected in the Final Budget – together with other allocations to be made by the Welsh Government, which do not form part of the agreement – which is published on January 20.

Ceredigion MS Elin Jones welcomed the news Ceredigion’s settlement will increase to over four per cent, the party stating the original budget “would have left local authorities facing a significant shortfall that could have led to further large council tax increases, public sector job losses, and a historically low NHS settlement”.

Plaid Cymru has said it asked for two things – to protect public services and prevent unaffordable council tax rises, and “to correct the inadequate NHS settlement caused by Labour’s rollover budget”.

Elin Jones MS said: “This will provide a far better settlement for Ceredigion Council and local taxpayers. It can be used to relieve the pressure on tight budgets for our public services, and also reduce the burden of council tax on ratepayers in Ceredigion.

“It had been proposed that Ceredigion Council’s settlement by the Welsh Government would have been 2.3 per cent, as a result of Plaid Cymru’s deal, this will now increase to over 4 per cent. The additional funding for the NHS of 3.6 per cent, up from the proposed 2.1 per cent, will also help our stretched health services here in the west.

“If Plaid Cymru can deliver this in opposition, imagine what we can achieve leading the next Welsh Government in May – real change and new leadership that puts the people of Wales first.”

Ceredigion County Council has been contacted for a reaction to the increased funding.