Cardiff Council considers cuts and increased charges to close £23.4m budget gap

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Cardiff Council is looking at hiking council tax, the cost of parking permits and burial service charges in a bid to save millions of pounds.

In announcing the launch of its budget consultation for 2025/26, the local authority has published a first look at some of the proposed investments and changes to services that could be voted through later this year.

The city council was initially looking at a budget gap of more than £60m for the next financial year, but following a better than expected settlement from the Welsh Government it will now have to save £23.4m.

A large portion of the savings that the council is proposing to make would come from back-office reductions and a reduction in staff numbers through voluntary severance.

Investment

Among the biggest proposed increases in investment are an additional £19.8m for schools, £12.1m for adult services, £8.8m for central education services and £7.5m for children’s services.

The leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, called the proposed Welsh Government settlement, excepting the pandemic period, the “most generous” that the local authority has received since 2010.

He said: “Nevertheless, after over a decade of austerity and with growth in demand higher than growth in funding, public services cannot be rebuilt overnight, and we are still left with a £23.4 million shortfall that must be addressed to balance the budget.

“This will require savings and efficiencies, increased charges for some services and changes to how we do things.”

Although the council said it is proposing an increase in council tax, no figure has been set yet.

A public consultation on the budget proposals will open on Thursday, January 9, 2025, and run until midnight, Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

Parking permits

Cardiff Council is proposing to increase the cost of residential parking permits from £30 to £35 for the first permit and from £80 to £120 for the second permit.

Burials and cremations could see an increase in cost, with the council currently looking at raising the burial service charge by £100 to £1,140 and the cremation service charge by £40 to £910.

The cost of purchasing a grave is proposed to go up by £65 to £1,295.

Fees for adult education courses are proposed to go up and the cost of secondary school meals is being looked at for a potential increase of between 10p and 20p.

Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for finance, modernisation and performance, Cllr Chris Weaver, said the demand for council services continues to increase due to a number of factors, including the cost of living crisis, an ageing population and a rise in the number of children with additional learning needs.

He added:”Delivering education and social care – supporting children, adults, and older people – accounts for over 70% of the Council’s budget.

“In recent years, the cost of providing these essential services has risen significantly.

“To address these challenges, since 2022, we’ve opened or expanded 10 schools, built 900 new council homes with plans for 1,900 more, and helped residents access over £52 million in benefits.

“We’ve also worked to regenerate parts of the city and invested in local hubs and libraries where people can come for help and advice.

“We want to continue this important work, so it’s crucial that the public take part in the debate and the consultation.”

In 2023/24, Cardiff Council faced a budget gap of £24m. This increased to about £30m in 2024/25.

Unpopular proposals

Over these years, the local authority made a number of unpopular proposals to save money.

These included bringing in a private operator for St David’s Hall, moving the Museum of Cardiff out of its current home in the Old Library and turning it into a mobile attraction – this didn’t go ahead in the end – and changing the frequency of black bin bag collections.

For its 2024-25 budget, Cardiff Council looked at reducing street cleansing and the number of public bins on residential streets.

This also didn’t go ahead in the end, but other controversial moves did.

In March, 2024, Cardiff Council voted through a 6% council tax increase, increases for car parking charges and residential parking permits.

Full details of the budget consultation will be available on Cardiff Council’s website from Thursday, January 9, with printed copies available in libraries, Hubs, and council buildings for those unable to participate digitally from January 13.

The final budget proposals will be considered by full council on Wednesday, February 12, and will be scrutinised by the council’s scrutiny committees in advance of that meeting.