THE first airing of Ceredigion’s draft budget for the next financial year – including a five per cent council tax rise – is due at next week’s cabinet meeting.

Ceredigion County Council’s revenue allocation from Welsh Government for 2019/20 is £102,091,000 which is an increase of 0.3 per cent on last year a report to cabinet states.

However, it adds that this is a decrease in real terms “after including expenditure increases.”

Other figures to be highlighted at cabinet on January 22 is the notional calculation of what is needed to provide a standard level of service  – the Standard Spendings Assessments (SSA) – which has been set at £141,469,000.

Council tax in Ceredigion is slightly above the Welsh average the report states, at £1,226 for a Band D property, excluding police precepts and a five per cent increase is proposed this year.

Cabinet members will be told that the increase will raise an additional £2million and  “enables more services to be retained especially schools and social care.”

Its capital allocation has risen by £953,000 to £5.591million.

It is anticipated that savings of nearly £6million need to be found within the council budget with the inclusion of recently identified pay pressures linked to teachers’ pay and pensions.

Some of this, but not all, will be funded by Welsh Government.

The council’s overview and scrutiny committees will begin the process of examining the draft budget  in the coming weeks.