Local MP welcomes best financial settlement in years

Alyn and Deeside’s Member of Parliament, Mark Tami, has welcomed the best financial settlement for Flintshire County Council in years.

Finance and Local Government Minister Rebecca Evans yesterday announced the Welsh Government’s provisional local government settlement for 2023 to 2024.

Flintshire has ranked 8^th of all the local authorities in Wales, receiving an increase of 8.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to the current year. This will mean an additional £11m in funding for the local authority to spend on vital public services.

Mark Tami said: “I welcome this, the best settlement in years for Flintshire.

“I’m pleased that the Welsh Government have listened to the Labour Flintshire County Council’s campaign for increased funding, led by Councillor Ian Roberts.

“Importantly this is money into the base funding and will therefore have a positive impact in future years.

“After recent chaos at the heart of the UK Conservative Government and the years of austerity enforced by them, all councils are facing difficult choices. But this will certainly help to soften the blow we were facing.”

Across Wales core revenue funding for local government will increase by 7.9% on a like-for-like basis, compared to the current year. No local authority will receive less than a 6.5% increase.

Social care, education and other key services provided by local authorities will be backed with £5.5 billion in Welsh Government Revenue Support Grant and non-domestic rates.

The settlement reflects the government’s commitment to support key front-line services and protect the vulnerable and includes funding for the real Living Wage for care workers, the teachers’ pay deal, and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. It also includes the support for businesses announced on Monday.

Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said:

“When I announced our budget yesterday I prioritised the protection of frontline public services, and this increased funding to councils - who deliver so many of these services - is a vital part of that.'

“I recognise however that inflationary pressures being faced by services mean that local authorities will still need to make difficult decisions in setting their budgets.

“We will continue to work closely with local government to meet the shared challenges we face and deliver services to benefit the people of Wales.”