Welsh Government reveals how much North Wales councils will get under provisional funding settlement

The Welsh Government has today revealed the provisional funding settlements for councils for the next financial year, with a mixed picture for local authorities in North Wales.

Wrexham Council had been hoping for an uplift around 4% for 2021/22, but has ended up with a 2.3% increase – the second lowest rise in the country.

Flintshire came off best under the draft settlement figure with a 3.8% increase, but that is still nearly 2 per cent less than the authority had asked for.

The settlements for each of the six North Wales counties can be seen below:

The overall Wales figure is a 3.8% uplift in funding, slightly below the 4% figure the Welsh Local Government Association requested.

The annual settlement grant allocates money on an individual council basis, with the total grant divided among them on the basis of a complex formula.

The formula aims to “take into account the relative needs and available resources of different councils’, and other factors such as population changes” with more details on how the amount are calculated available in this PDF.

Julie James MS, Minister for Housing and Local Government said: “Adjusting for transfers, the core revenue funding for local government in 2021-22 will increase by 3.8% on a like-for-like basis compared to the current year.

“In 2021-22, local authorities will receive £4.65 billion from the Welsh Government in core revenue funding and non-domestic rates to spend on delivering key services.”

“In addition to this, I am publishing information on revenue and capital grants planned for 2021-22.

“These amount to nearly £1 billion for revenue and over £720 million for capital.

“The government is providing these indicative grant values and distributions now so that local authorities are able to plan their budgets efficiently. This information will be further updated for the final settlement.

“As set out in yesterday’s draft budget the Welsh Government’s funding priorities continue to be health and local government services.

“While I know local government has been facing significant pressures, particularly arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, I hope that this increase, building as it does on a significantly improved settlement in 2020-21, enables authorities to continue to support and deliver critical and valued local services.”

Reacting to the news, Denbighshire Council leader Hugh Evans said: “The part played by local authorities in the response to the crisis this year has been crucial.

“Although this settlement will be welcomed by many authorities, there remain significant public service and financial challenges, particularly for those authorities who will receive a lower-than-average increase.

“For this reason, we need a funding floor to protect those authorities.

“With the announcement by the UK Government of a March Budget, we shall continue to make the case for a multiyear approach to funding so that we can plan with more certainty.”

Following the announcement, a formal seven-week consultation will be held on the provisional local government settlement, ending on 9 February 2021.