The eye watering budget gap Cardiff Council is expected to face next year

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Cardiff Council is expected to have to bridge an eye watering budget gap of almost £50m next year, a newly published report shows.

The report on the council’s updated medium term financial plan, will be looked at by the local authoity’s policy review and performance scrutiny committee next week before going to cabinet.

It states the indicative budget gap for the 2025/26 financial year is estimated at £49.7m and suggests council tax may have to rise to help close it.

This financial year, the council was left to deal with a budget gap of £30m and had to make a number of cuts to services in order to save money.

Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for finance, modernisation and performance, Cllr Chris Weaver, said further difficult choices will need to be made over the coming months to deal with next year’s projected gap.

Balanced budget

He said: “The Council has a responsibility to deliver a balanced budget for 2025-26 and we are committed to achieving that goal in what continues to be an increasingly, 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.”

The shortfall that the council faces is largely caused by rising costs and the demand on social care, schools and education, buildings, roads and parks among other services.

In March, the Council’s Medium-Term Financial Plan highlighted a potential budget gap in 2025-26 of £44.3m.

For the longer period of 2025-2029, this gap was expected to be £142.3m.

As well as the projected gap for 2025/26 rising by £6m, the medium term gap is now expected to be £147.7m.

Choices

Cllr Weaver added: “We know we have some difficult decisions and choices to make over the coming months, but we are determined to try to reduce the budget deficit in ways that will have as little impact on the people of Cardiff as possible.

“This is, however, becoming increasingly difficult.

“This council – like councils across the UK – has seen its budget reduced in real terms requiring hundreds of millions of savings over the past 15 years.

“So far, we have managed to safeguard most of the services that our residents rely on and care about, but the budget gap we face next year and over the next four years, set against the money we expect to receive, means it’s very likely we will no longer be able to deliver some services.

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

The policy review and performance scrutiny committee meeting will take place at 4.30pm on Wednesday, July 17.

Cabinet members will discuss the budget update on Thursday, July 18 at 1pm.