Further service cuts and fee increases will be needed to fill a £6m funding gap in Ceredigion County Council’s budget, it has been warned.

Despite an anticipated council tax increase of five per cent, which is now recommended by Cabinet members to be further increased to seven per cent, and a small 0.3 per cent funding increase from the Welsh Government, councillors have hit out at the Westminster and Welsh governments, insisting they are not adequately funding local government.

Council leader Ellen ap Gwynn said local authorities across Wales were facing major budgetary issues with below inflation funding increases with some authorities considering council tax increases of around 10 per cent.

In previous years there has been strong opposition to planned service cuts and savings, but council scrutiny committees have supported the proposals put forward this year, which include increased fees in some areas, staff restructuring, cutting site costs for former school buildings and cutting some maintenance budgets. However, it will need to go before full council.

Cllr Alun Lloyd Jones, the chair of the healthier communities scrutiny committee, accused central government of failing to protect council services.

He said: “We’ve gone through difficult times before and further difficult times are ahead.

“Cardiff and London have again let us down.

“They’re throwing more and more responsibility at us, but the funding doesn’t follow.

“Our needs are going up, but the budget is going down. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

Cllr Jones was backed by Cllr Ceredig Davies.

He said: “The National Assembly is setting local government up to fail.

“They’re giving less funding to local authorities, so the burden goes on the local taxpayers.

“Taxpayers then think the local authority are failing as we don’t have the money, so we are stuck in the middle.”

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