Budget approved by Council

This week we’ve had the unusual sight of three budgets in a row: UK Government, Welsh Government and last, but by no means least, our own, and not all quite in the right order.  Responding to a flurry of announcement and counter announcements and working out what’s new. old, re-badged or yet to be given money has been a challenge to say the least. It’s all had to be done at breakneck speed with the continued uncertainty of Covid and the wider economic impact.  Ben Smith and I, as well as Members, noted and thanked the efforts of all finance staff working under these testing conditions.  The ever-flamboyant Ben has been outstanding on the national stage, as has the Leader, both ensuring that the needs of the city are properly reflected in Welsh Government thinking. 

The UK Government announced longer-term tax plans and a range of stimulus measures that will affect Swansea residents directly or indirectly through measures such as the furlough extension, tax rate changes and continued  benefits uplifts, especially to Universal Credit. There’ll be major Barnett consequentials for Wales to come in due course. Some £740m and I’m sure the Welsh Government will announce further proposals flowing from this quite soon. It’s nice to hear Swansea mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech in the Commons with the very specific announcement of faster funding for the Swansea Bay City Deal.  Given our projects are the most advanced in terms of delivery this’ll be a welcome bonus for us.

There’s no new money for local government more generally at this stage, no news on public sector pay nor any changes to council tax assumptions which were factored in at up to around 5% in both England and Wales already.

The Welsh Government final budget was announced before the Chancellor’s. Unsurprisingly, there were few new announcements directly affecting us as a Council, including confirmation of no change to our own local government finance settlement. There’ll clearly though be several in-year releases of cash to help address Covid costs and hardship costs in all councils which face continued loss of income, loss of council tax, loss of business rates and increased spending on keeping care homes and schools and all other services safe as we hope to return to some greater normality.

Our own budget went to Council on Thursday night with a packed agenda and last minute tweaks, given the two other budgets. Steps and measures we’ve taken meant Members were able to agree a balanced budget and set a council tax increase below the assumptions made by Welsh and UK governments.

We can be fairly sure that in the new year we’ll see a wave of new UK and Welsh government interventions and budget tweaks and we can expect the same for our own finances. All very much a moveable feast.

Longer term the outlook remains challenging for the public sector and all of us can expect to have to tighten our belts on our spending and once the taxman has had his share.  The economy shrank by 10% last year and will take a long time to recover so Ben and I continue to emphasise the long-term need for financial discipline over the medium-term.

Good news

The Covid infection rates continue to fall and the vaccination programme is making great progress in Swansea. And the return to school for our youngest pupils has continued to go well this week with all the Foundation Phase pupils now back in class. We’re working with schools for more pupils safely returning from March 15 and there’s a lot of planning to do. The Welsh Government wants all primary pupils back from this date along with pupils in exam years 11 and 13, plus some pupils in years 10 and 12 sitting exams.

This week the Minister said schools will be allowed to decide whether to give 11 to 14-year-olds the opportunity to see teachers face-to-face before the Easter holidays begin and we’re looking at how that could work.

There’s some good financial news with our Corporate Property team finalising some important purchases. The acquisition of Quay West, off The Strand, and a number of Enterprise Zone properties offers the probability of strong financial returns for the council as we face an uncertain financial future.

This weekend we’ll be installing our landmark Copr Bay bridge over Oystermouth Road in a painstaking event overnight.  It’ll be a number of months before the pedestrian and cyclist bridge linking our £135m digital arena and coastal park to the city centre will be ready for use by the public, but the eye-catching bridge is key to our regeneration plans. Despite the pandemic we’ve continued to press ahead with the arena and the bridge and my thanks to Lee Richards and his team and our contractors for their outstanding efforts.

It’s always great news when we get national recognition for one of our local innovations. Yesterday APSE Energy at its annual energy summit announced we’ve won a competition for five days of free consultancy support for our innovative ‘Net Zero Swansea’ Remote Working Toolkit. The toolkit aims to help people working at home to reduce carbon and their impact on the environment while saving money, time and promoting wellbeing. Well done to Martin Nicholls and the team for their efforts.

Thanks

Dave Stares, Parks Fleet and Operational Area Manager, is retiring after 39 years’ service. Dave spent his entire career working for the parks service and over the years he has covered many roles, starting as a gardener in Clyne Park before moving into a number of managerial positions. I wish him well in his retirement.