Powys AM's get in early on nil % budget settlement

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 24th Sep 2008

AM's for Powys Kirsty Williams and Mick Bates will this week meet with the Minister for Local Government to lobby for an improved figure for the 2009/10 Powys County Council's local government settlement. The forecast settlement for Powys is currently a devastating nil %.

Powys' budget settlement for 2008/09, at 1 % was originally the worst in Wales before being increased to a floor figure of 2%, after a hard campaign. This was still below inflation and left the council to make tough decisions about frontline services.

Kirsty Williams, AM for Brecon & Radnorshire said: "We all worked very hard earlier this year to get Powys' measly settlement increased, and despite a reluctant One Wales Government we succeeded.

"The Liberal Democrats and the council are now getting in early to fight hard on behalf of Powys for a reasonable settlement for 2009/10.

"Next years settlement is looking even worse and the nil % increase comes at a time of rising inflation and higher costs for public service delivery. With the ever increasing cost of fuel, local authorities are having to shell out more and more money to cover transport and building costs. With no settlement increase this will be unsustainable.

"The council have already started a programme of cost cutting - just recently they have announced plans to turn off street lighting across the county and they will struggle to make further savings without badly hitting residents.

"We are facing a time of financial difficulty, when people at home are having to tighten their belts and it is clear that Government and local Government must also do so. However a nil % settlement would be catastrophic and would further hit the frontline services that are so essential to our rural area.

"Powys residents cannot afford to loose yet more bus services from a network that has already been driven back to its bare bone. But this and other losses would be the direct result of such an abysmal settlement. We will therefore be calling upon the Minister to put an improved offer on the table.

Mick Bates, AM for Montgomeryshire said: "Powys was hard done by this year with a disgraceful budget settlement from a complacent Labour-Plaid Government which does not understand the challenges faced in rural areas. Set against a backdrop of rising inflation, as well as the difficulties of service delivery in rural areas of sparse population and poor infrastructure, the forecast settlement for next year would put even more pressure on many of our vital local services.

"Purse strings have already been tightened and a nil % settlement for next year could seriously threaten the quality and delivery of local services across the country. It is vital that the Labour-Plaid Government delivers a more realistic settlement for the next year, to safeguard our local services for the future."

Notes:

Kirsty Williams and Mick will be meeting with the Minister Brian Gibbons AM along with Gwilym Vaughan, Portfolio holder for finance at Powys County Council and Geoffrey Petty, Head of Finance at Powys County Council on Thursday 25th September.