Shock pay-out sells town short (From Barry And District News)

Shock pay-out sells town short

BARRY taxpayers have been sold short by the Assembly Government after it was revealed the local authority is to receive one of the lowest cash subsidies in the country.

Minister for Finance, Local Government and Public Services Sue Essex announced the funding yesterday, and officers in the Vale of Glamorgan Council were dismayed to hear how little help they will get from the Welsh office for 2005/2006.

The area is to get around £200 less per person than neighbouring boroughs.

The authority now faces a series of hard choices as services throughout the region are set to suffer, despite the new house re-bandings seeing hundreds of homeowners being forced to pay a sharp rise in Council Tax. Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council Cllr Jeffrey James said: "Although the all-Wales average for Welsh Assembly Government settlements is five percent, the figure for the Vale of Glamorgan Council is actually only 3.7 percent.

"This means in real terms that the settlement will not cover the Vale of Glamorgan Council's inflation cost, wage costs and costs for additional functions taken on by the authority.

"One such additional cost for the next financial year is the cost to the authority for issuing licences. Under new legislation, all local authorities are now responsible for the licensing functions previously carried out by Magistrates.

"Although the Vale of Glamorgan Council can levy a charge for issuing these licences, the extra work will mean employing a new team of people to deal with the demand. It will not be possible to pay for their wages from the settlement given to us by the Welsh Assembly Government."

Tory AM and Parliamentary Candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan added a note of warning: "We have received one of the worst settlements in Wales. On top of the impact re-banding will have on the Vale, this is a devastating blow.

"The Vale council may not have enough to cover the extra burdens placed upon the authority, such as the teachers workload agreement or increased National Insurance.

"As a result of this settlement, the authority faces the tough choice of putting up council taxes or cutting key services."