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WALES

Welsh settlement 'does not come close' to matching pressures

Local authority leaders across Wales have warned the provisional 2026-27 local government settlement ‘does not come close’ to matching their financial pressures.

 © Goran Radovic/Shutterstock

 © Goran Radovic/Shutterstock

Local authority leaders across Wales have warned the provisional 2026-27 local government settlement ‘does not come close' to matching their financial pressures.

Cabinet secretary for local government, Jayne Bryant, yesterday announced that councils will next year receive £6.4bn from the Welsh Government.

The announcement means that Welsh councils will receive an average 2.7% funding increase.

A statement on the Welsh Local Government Association's (WLGA) website warned the announcement ‘does not come close to matching the unprecedented financial pressures facing councils across Wales'.

WLGA independent group leader Mark Pritchard said: ‘I urge Welsh Government to look again at the reality facing councils and to increase the final settlement. Without additional support, the strain on councils to deliver essential services to the public will become untenable. The pressures on council workforces will only get worse and redundancies will be inevitable.'

The settlement announcement comes after Wales' outgoing auditor general warned that some of the nation's councils were ‘very close' to issuing section 114 notices.

 

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