A view from Sam Rowlands – Welsh Conservative North Wales Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com has invited the four North Wales Members of the Senedd to write a monthly column with updates on their work. You can find their updates – along with contributions from the Wrexham and Clwyd South MPs and MSs – here. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌​​‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​​

In this month’s column, Welsh Conservative MS Sam Rowlands writes:

It’s pretty clear that councils in Wales are facing serious financial pressures. There are a variety of reasons, including inflation and continuing shockwaves economic shockwaves from Putin’s ongoing illegal war in Ukraine.

Councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham Council, has warned that it’s only a matter of time before a local authority goes bankrupt in Wales.

This is truly sobering. Wrexham Council estimates it has to find £11.7m of savings this financial year, and Flintshire Council is in the midst of a budget deficit of £14million.

These are certainly challenging times for Councils, and I recognise that difficult decisions will need to be made in order to save money.

In an interview with BBC Wales, Cllr Pritchard pointed to the Welsh Government’s spending priorities as an area of concern, when there are other things that money should be spent on. I agree that Labour Ministers in Cardiff need to seriously reassess what they are spending taxpayers’ money on, and think about directing that money towards local councils who desperately need it.

For example, they’re spending more than £100 million on putting 36 more politicians in the Welsh Parliament, and have bunged tens of millions towards a blanket 20mph speed limit.

They’re also providing free school meals for well-off families and have thrown plenty of cash into the failing Cardiff Airport, just to name a few.

It’s not right for Labour to spend huge sums on vanity projects when Councils are squeezed. Just think of the difference that all that money would make if targeted at the right places, at the services that we use day in day out.

It would make a noticeable difference for our communities across Wrexham, Flintshire and North Wales.

Instead, it is needlessly frittered away on things that don’t really benefit people, particularly in North Wales.

There is also the matter of reserves, which Councils hold back for a ‘rainy day’. Some Councils in Wales have hundreds of millions in usable reserves.

I would say that the current scenario we face is about as rainy as it gets, and Councils should not be holding these vast amounts of money in reserve when they could be used to fund things like social services, schools and more.

I am also concerned that preparations aren’t being made to tackle the big overarching challenges that face Council across Wales, the United Kingdom and indeed the rest of the developed world. For example, rapidly ageing populations is a challenge that already faces us, and this will only get more acute in the coming years and decades.

Councils will be in the firing line on this as they are responsible for social services, which includes helping those with disabilities.

There aren’t many signs that the Labour Welsh Government or many Councils in Wales are really getting to grips with this issue, which will be one of the biggest policy challenges we will face.

More broadly, there are huge long-standing issues with the Welsh Government’s funding formula for local government.

It generally disadvantages councils in North Wales and rural areas. It uses data points that are decades old, and doesn’t take account of severe demographic changes which have taken place.

I want to see a more equitable funding formula put into place, which is fair and doesn’t throw up ‘winners and losers’ each year.

This will ensure that Councils can adequately plan for challenges ahead and have some level of certainty into the future.

As ever, if you have any queries or issues, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can contact me by emailing [email protected] or calling on 0300 200 7267.