Anger over council cash funding

Council leaders have warned of "exceptionally difficult times" as they try to protect services Councils demand emergency talks

Welsh councils have reacted angrily to an announcement of an average 2.9% cash increase in funding next year.

Council leaders say services may suffer as this is far below the current inflation rate of 5.2%.

The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has called for emergency talks with the Welsh Assembly Government to avoid a funding crisis.

Ministers said indications were that inflation would fall sharply next year, but there were "challenging times".

They said they were committed to giving enough money for key services.

Anglesey, Powys and Blaenau Gwent will receive the lowest settlements of 1.5%, with Carmarthenshire, Bridgend and Cardiff all get increases of about 4%.

Local Government Minister Brian Gibbons promised to work with local authorities to ensure the money "was used most effectively and efficiently".

WELSH COUNCIL CASH INCREASES 2009-10 Anglesey: 1.5% Blaenau Gwent: 1.5% Bridgend: 4.1% Caerphilly: 2.7% Cardiff: 4% Carmarthenshire: 4.2% Ceredigion: 2.8% Conwy: 1.8% Denbighshire: 3.5% Flintshire: 2.7% Gwynedd: 2.2% Merthyr Tydfil: 2.4% Monmouthshire: 3.7% Neath Port Talbot: 2.2% Newport: 2.5% Pembrokeshire: 3% Powys: 1.5% Rhondda Cynon Taf: 1.8% Swansea: 3% Torfaen: 2.4% Vale of Glamorgan: 3.9% Wrexham: 3.7% Welsh average: 2.9% Source: Welsh Assembly Government

The announcement comes as councils faced steep increases in their energy bills and nine have millions of pounds frozen in Icelandic banks or their subsidiaries.

The WLGA said the assembly government would receive a 4.8% increase from Westminster, yet it was only passing on an average of 2.8% to councils.

It said the £1.5m increase for Blaenau Gwent would not even cover its energy bill for next year which will rise by £1.7m alone.

It also criticised the provisional settlement as "another bitter blow" to the six north Wales councils which will receive an average increase of 2.6%.

WLGA leader John Davies called for emergency talks with the assembly government and said the rhetoric of "tough but fair" could not accurately describe the situation.

The WLGA is undertaking a survey with all the local authorities to access the impact of the budget on front line services and the results will be presented to the assembly government.

He also called for the return of the 1% efficiency levy worth £38m to be used to reduce council tax bills.

"Council leaders throughout Wales do not wish to place added worry and burden on people and therefore call upon Welsh assembly Ministers to extend a hand of help by assisting councils to reduce the burden of council tax in this forthcoming year," he said.

"We will do all in our power to keep council tax levels at or below inflation but it will be impossible to achieve without the financial intervention of the assembly government."

Russell Roberts, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf, said 1.8% to his council did little to reflect the growing pressure faced by local authorities to cover increasing fuel, energy and transportation costs.

"As the authority with the fourth highest proportion of its areas in the most deprived 10% in Wales, we hoped for better support than this," said Mr Roberts.

Gwynedd council leader Dyfed Edwards said the settlement was "very poor" and it could lead to further cuts to services.

Anglesey council said the people on the island had been "badly let down", and leader Phil Fowlie said he would be raising his concerns with local AM and Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones in Cardiff Bay on Thursday.