Residents can now take part in second phase of Budget consultation

The £6M development of Pontypridd’s M&S site for a council that keeps saying it has no money so up the council tax.

Phase Two of the Council’s consultation for its 2025/26 Budget has now started. It will focus on a draft Strategy that has been put forward by officers, and residents can now have their say and take part in a number of ways.

Cabinet considered the draft Strategy at their meeting on January 22, and Members agreed for the next phase of public consultation to focus on the key elements that it proposes. The Strategy responds to the continuing financial challenges that are being faced right across Local Government, with an initial budget gap of £35.7 million being modelled for the Council next year.

That figure was adjusted to £6.8 million following early work to identify and deliver budget reduction measures (reported to Cabinet in November 2024), Welsh Government’s provisional Local Government settlement in December 2024, and several updated base budget requirements. Further details here.

Key elements of the Strategy propose fully-funding our schools next year with an overall increase in funding of £14m (7%), an extra £5.75 million of budget reduction measures that include newly-identified efficiency savings, Fees and Charges being subjected to a standard 5% increase, and a proposed 4.5% Council Tax rise – again likely to be one of the lowest increases in Wales.

Residents can now find out more and have their say on the draft Budget Strategy for 2025/26, within Phase Two of this year’s public consultation. It is being held from Thursday, January 23, to Friday, February 7, 2025.

The process will be hosted on the RCT Let’s Talk engagement website, which will include key information, a survey, and a quick poll. The Council’s social media channels will promote and encourage engagement. Emails will be sent to key stakeholders, while officers will also engage with several key demographic groups, including older people and our young people.

Offline, a telephone consultation option is available through the Council’s contact centre, while paper surveys and information can be sent upon request – with a consultation Freepost address available for postal responses. Please send these to Freepost (RUGK-EZZL-ELBH), Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Third Floor Office, 2 Llys Cadwyn, Pontypridd, CF37 4TH.

Councillor Maureen Webber, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Council Business and Corporate Estates, said: “The draft Budget Strategy for next year presents a much more positive position than anticipated, thanks to a 4.8% funding increase included in December’s provisional settlement. However, while Welsh Government has taken steps to protect our key services, we know that 14 years of budget constraints are not easily undone. While we have been given some short-term breathing room, the medium term outlook still looks very challenging.

“There are many positive aspects to the proposed Budget – including an extra £14m to fully-fund our schools next year, and another huge effort to identify multi-million pound efficiency savings that will have a minimal impact upon our services – on top of the £13m included in the current year, and £16m the year before. Officers have also proposed a sensible approach to Council Tax levels that would avoid a large-scale increase, while proposing Fees and Charges levels that would remain competitive compared with neighbouring authorities.

“The Council has now started phase two of its annual Budget consultation, enabling residents to find out more and have their say on the draft Strategy. More than 700 people took part in phase one, that was held in the autumn and focused on efficiency savings and investment priorities. This feedback played a key role in informing our strategy, and I’d again encourage interested residents to have their say on the RCT Let’s Talk engagement website until February 7 – to help us set a final, legally-balanced Budget by March 2025.

“It’s also important to add that those people with limited or no access to the Internet can also take part fully – whether that’s via telephone by calling the Council’s Contact Centre, or by the Freepost address that is provided.”