Across Wales, Councils are currently sitting on over £2 billion in usable reserves, yet residents in South Wales Central are facing Council Tax rises of 5.9% (Vale of Glamorgan), 4.7% (RCT) and 4.95% (Cardiff).
Year after year, the people of Wales are hit with Council Tax rises, with many having seen their bills double since 2010, yet Councils are hoarding billions of pounds in usable reserves.
The Welsh Conservatives have fought to keep council tax down across Wales by calling for an independent review of the Local Government Funding Formula and to ensure usable reserves are used to keep Council Tax low and introduce referendums for any Council proposing a Council Tax rise above 5%. Furthermore, Welsh Conservatives have called on Local Governments in Wales to become more efficient, along with ensuring more cross-Council working and the sharing of resources and services.
Commenting on the increase, Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central, Joel James MS, said:
Under the Welsh Labour Government, the Local Government Funding Formula remains broken.
It cannot be right that people across my region of South Wales Central face Council Tax increases year after year, whilst Councils across Wales are sitting on over £2 billion in usable reserves.
The Labour Welsh Government in the Senedd must do more to keep Council Tax as low as possible by encouraging the use of usable reserves, efficiency within the council and encouraging the sharing of resources across council boundaries.
ENDS
