Council tax bombshell could cost households thousands in next Assembly
Households across Wales could be hundreds of pounds a year worse off if Labour is allowed to press ahead with the forced mergers of Local Authorities.
New council tax figures for 2016/17 show that rates faced by Band D properties across Wales vary by up to £624 per annum, and compulsory mergers could see many households face spiralling bills without their consent.
Labour has previously proposed a series of forced Council mergers, potentially favouring a reduction to eight or nine Local Authorities. No concrete assurances have been offered to residents as to the impact such amalgamations may have on their future Council Tax rates.
Residents of Monmouthshire, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wrexham and Conwy could be among those hardest hit, the Welsh Conservatives can reveal.
A proposed merger of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Torfaen and Monmouthshire could see households in Monmouthshire £288.71 worse off each year, and Newport an eye-watering £495.53 out of pocket.
Meanwhile, residents in Pembrokeshire could face rises of up to £320.81 should a merger with Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion take place, whilst taxpayers in Wrexham could face a £134.85 hike under Labour plans for a combined authority with Denbighshire and Flintshire.
The bombshell figures come on the back of an Assembly term in which Welsh Labour refused to implement a Council Tax freeze, despite being given more than £94million of funding by the UK Government to do so.
Welsh Conservatives believe local government mergers should be subject to local referenda, ensuring any merger is clearly justified by local people through the ballot box. The Party has also pledged to implement a Council Tax freeze for the duration of the next Assembly term.
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said:
“Thee bombshell figures will cause alarm to households across Wales, already denied support with spiraling bills by Labour in recent years.
“For residents across Wales, including those in Newport, Pembrokeshire, Conwy, Monmouthshire and Wrexham, these are deeply worrying figures and Labour’s silence on how bills could be impacted by their plans is deafening.
“Not content with placing much-cherished local identities under threat, Labour’s plans could have serious financial consequences for many households.
“Welsh Conservatives believe mergers should be subject to a local referendum, allowing a clear, wide-ranging discussion about the impacts of reform, and giving local people the final say over the services which impact upon them most."
Local Government spokesperson, and Aberconwy candidate, Janet Finch-Saunders added:
“Households across Wales are already £794 worse off due to Labour’s failure to implement a council tax freeze.
“Now, hard-pressed households potentially face more eye-watering hikes in bills if Labour are allowed to drive through their marker-pen assault on local communities, without the prior consent of residents.
“A vote for the Welsh Conservatives will secure real change; delivering a Council Tax freeze for local residents and ensuring an open, transparent, Wales-wide discussion about the future of our Councils, and communities.”
