The 2005/06 local government settlement was a tough one for local authorities. Some councils faced some very hard choices, between significant cuts in local services or unacceptable increases to council tax levels.
On the plus side, there was support to tax payers badly hit by council tax revaluation which was provided by the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘transitional relief scheme’. And the settlement introduces a minimum budget guarantee for every council.
In the final settlement, more money was been introduced to Wales through the Chancellor’s announcement of an additional £7.4m in the pre-budget settlement. The Assembly has passported this fully to local government and in addition provided nearly £2m of new money on deprivation and performance grant, which was very welcome. A good start has also been made the availability of resources to support pensions and social care.