Cardiff council makes major budget announcement

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Life in Cardiff could change dramatically next year after the city council announced it may have to stop running some services due to budget pressures.

Cardiff Council said recently that it expected to face a budget gap of £38.4m in 2026/27, an increase of just under £11m compared to this year.

In order to bridge the financial deficit, caused by a number of factors like inflation and work force costs, some services the local authority runs might have to be reduced or stopped completely.

The council said it was committed to protecting front line services and that it would seek to maximise back-office efficiencies.

‘Balanced budget’

Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for finance, modernisation and performance, Cllr Chris Weaver, said: “The Council has a responsibility to deliver a balanced budget for 2026/27 and we are committed to achieving that goal in what continues to be a very challenging financial landscape.”

“We will now work on putting together a Budget, and an updated Corporate Plan, which will prioritise the resources available on key services.

“We know we have some difficult decisions and choices to make over the coming months, and we are determined to reduce the budget gap in ways that have as little impact on the people of Cardiff as possible.

“But the financial pressures we are facing make this increasingly difficult to achieve.

“Like councils across the UK, Cardiff has seen its budget reduced in real terms over many years, requiring hundreds of millions of pounds in savings.

“So far, we’ve managed to protect most of the services our residents rely on and care about.

“However, the budget gap we face next year and over the next four years, set against the funding we expect to receive, means it is very likely that we will no longer be able to deliver some services.

“We will continue to consult with residents throughout this process to understand what matters most to them.”

Budgetary pressures

Cardiff Council is responsible for running a number of important services across the city, like bin and recycling collections, school transport, libraries and hubs, social care and meals on wheels.

Councils across the UK have been forced to consider making changes to their services due to increased budgetary pressures.

Other pressures facing local authorities, like Cardiff Council, include increased demand on services and the increasing complexity of need among those relying on services, particularly adult and children’s services.

In the past, Cardiff Council has proposed a number of changes to its services like increasing charges and fees, reducing staff, cutting down on street cleaning and offloading the running of assets to private companies.

Earlier this year, the council said it expected to face a budget gap of £40.4m for 2026/27.

Although this figure has reduced, its forecast for the long term budget shortfall (2026-2030) has gone up from £122.2m to £126.9m.

Capital programme

In an update on another key area of financial decision making next year for the council, its capital programme, the local authority said there was no scope for it to borrow any more money for major projects.

This means that any new capital expenditure will be minimised unless it can be supported by external partners.

The council’s capital programme is a long term spending plan that sets out investment in major one-off projects, like building new schools and developing a new indoor arena.

Capital schemes that are already planned for Cardiff and their timing will have to be reviewed by the council to identify any cost pressures and opportunities for external funding.

Cardiff Council also said it would seek longer term planning frameworks for capital investment with external grant providers.

However, it added that current bid arrangements made this difficult to plan.