Home » Have your say on Neath Port Talbot’s draft budget for 2025-26

Have your say on Neath Port Talbot’s draft budget for 2025-26

Neath Port Talbot Council

NEATH PORT TALBOT Council have approved a public consultation for their draft budget for the 2025-26 financial year.

The plans, which were released in January 2025, show how the authority will look to set a balanced budget for the coming year, despite what they say is a “difficult financial background” and £15 million of savings which need to be found.

The council’s annual revenue budget covers the day-to-day running costs of the council including staff salaries, building maintenance, pensions, and operational costs.

The plans were presented at a cabinet meeting on January 10, 2025, with members giving approval for them to go out to consultation for public feedback as well as to scrutiny sessions from opposition.

They currently include a 7% council tax increase for residents across the borough, along with a number of saving measures that include reductions to the council’s spend on local bus support, a review of home to school transport services, and the dimming of street lighting during early hours.

Others include plans re-design homeless services to reduce the number requiring temporary accommodation, as well as a reduction in the day to day works budget for road assets such as markings, signs, speed cushions, safety fences, and cattle grids.

The report noted that while the Welsh Government’s Provisional Local Government Settlement, published in December 2024 would give the authority an increase in funding of 4.4% next year, this would still not be enough to cover the cost of services.

It added that even though difficult decisions would need to be made by the council, the draft budget currently has no significant cuts to services or jobs in it.

Speaking at the meeting the leader of the council Steve Hunt said he hoped members of the public throughout the borough would engage with the consultation, in order for them to have the information they needed when setting this year’s budget.

The consultation will now be open until Friday, January 31, 2025. The final budget decisions along with the setting of Council Tax will be made on March 5, 2025.

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