Bridgend Council recently launched their annual “Shaping Bridgend’s Future” budget consultation for 2022-23.
While the amount of money BCBC will have to spend next year is dependent on the Welsh Government settlement for councils – which won’t be finalised for a few months – there’s an expectation they’ll need to make cuts again.
During 2021-22, cuts were minimised due to a better than expected settlement from the Welsh Government and a funding boost from spending increases arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some of the budget measures put forward in the consultation include:
- Offering face-to-face meetings with the public by appointment only (possibly away from the Civic Offices at local centres like libraries) and moving most customer contact services online.
- Reintroducing some fees and charges – which were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic – and possibly introducing more charges for services to prevent losing services completely.
- Either a council tax freeze, an increase of 3.5% or an increase of 6.5%.
The survey also asks for views on how Bridgend Council has performed over the last year.
The consultation is open until 14th November 2021 (more details here) and its findings will be presented to the BCBC Cabinet in December.
