NEATH PORT TALBOT Council has approved its final revenue budget for the 2025-26 financial year.
The plans, which were approved at a council meeting on March 5, 2025, will now see a council tax increase of 7 per cent, along with a range of other saving measures to meet what were described as “huge financial pressures.”
The authority’s annual revenue budget covers the day-to-day running costs of the council, including staff salaries, building maintenance, pensions, and operational costs.
The approved budget came after a 4.4 per cent increase in Welsh Government funding for Neath Port Talbot, with a revenue budget of £405m now being taken into the next financial year.
This includes £121m of spending on education and lifelong learning, as well as £127m for social services, housing and community safety, and £18m for corporate services.
A council spokesman previously said that, “despite huge financial pressures” the draft budget put forward was one that still had no significant cuts to services or jobs in it.
They also discussed proposals that had already been dropped by cabinet members to introduce three-weekly waste collections along with the removal of wheelie bins – though added that more than £6m in savings would still need to be made.
These savings will now include things like a reduction in the council revenue spent on local bus support, along with the increases in fees and charges associated with cemeteries, the dimming of street lighting at certain hours, and a re-design of homeless services to reduce the number requiring temporary accommodation.
Additionally, there will be a reduction in the day to day works budget for local road assets such as road markings, signs, speed cushions, safety fences, and cattle grids.
Speaking at the meeting, council leader Steve Hunt of Crynant, Onllwyn and Seven Sisters said that while he felt they had established a balanced budget, it had been one of the most challenging he had encountered in his 16 years as a councillor.
He said: “Today, we believe we have set a prudent budget that continues to protect jobs and services which has been our council’s priority since my election in 2008.”
However, members of the opposition said they opposed the plans with local Labour group leader Cllr Rob Jones saying: “I feel that this budget falls far short of protecting and preserving things in the council as they stand.”
Cllr Stephanie Grimshaw of Aberavon added that raising the council tax by what she said was an “extraordinary amount” during a cost-of-living crisis would be a shock to the community that placed a burden on everyone.
This led to a series of debates between members which largely focused on the increase in council tax and the current deficit positions faced by schools across the county borough.
The plans were later approved after a recorded vote by members which saw 31 votes in favour of the plans, with 22 against and two abstentions. It was also approved alongside a capital budget worth a total of £182m.
