Welsh households are £546 worse off under Labour as a result of their failure to implement a council tax freeze.
That’s the message from the Welsh Conservatives in an opposition debate this afternoon in the Senedd.
Janet Finch-Saunders will also use the debate to call on the Welsh Government to oversee a new era of transparency and openness in local government:
- for Local Authorities to provide council taxpayers with a clear and accessible breakdown of how their money is spent.
- for open public meetings prior to a Council budget being set,
- And for all Local Authorities to publish all expenditure – as Conservative-led Monmouthshire Council do.
Under Welsh Labour’s failure to freeze council tax, households have been left £546 worse off over the course of the Fourth Assembly alone.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Local Government, Janet Finch-Saunders AM, will claim that the people of Wales know best how to spend their money.
Speaking ahead of the debate, she said:
“Welsh households are £546 worse off under Labour as a result of their failure to implement a council tax freeze.
“Not only would a council tax freeze be a huge boost to the local economy, we want to put money back into the pockets of the people who know best how to spend it – families themselves.
“We are also calling for greater openness and transparency from local authorities, with all expenditure published and a clear breakdown on council tax bills to explain where our money goes.
“Under this Welsh Labour Government taxpayers have seen crippling council tax rises of 168%, and hundreds of millions of pounds spent on golden handshakes for council staff.
“What they haven’t seen are innovative public services, open and transparent spending and value for money across local government. That has to change.”
Today’s motion for debate observes that the National Assembly for Wales:
1. Notes the important role Local Authority services play in an individual’s experiences of public services.
2. Regrets the Welsh Government’s persistent refusal to provide support to Local Authorities in preventing rises in Council Tax bill.
3. Notes average band D council tax for Wales for 2015-16 is £1,328; and that households are £546 worse off over the course of the Fourth Assembly due to the Welsh Government's refusal to implement a council tax freeze.
4. Believes people in Wales will question the value for money provided by many Local Authority services further to these Council Tax rises
5. Further believes more work needs to be done in Wales to utilise the role third sector organisations can play in effective local service delivery.