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| Blaenau Gwent votes for £10m savings while Carmarthenshire considers cuts | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Another Welsh local authority has voted for cuts in services and increases in council tax at a meeting to confirm next year's budget. | |
| Blaenau Gwent approved £10m of cuts and a council tax increase of 4.6%. | |
| Leader Hedley McCarthy said they had to make some very unpopular decisions and were asking the community to help retain some services. | |
| Councillors in Carmarthenshire will also vote on a 4.77% council tax rise as they look to make savings of £12m. | |
| Fees for clubs using council-owned sports pitches could also rise. | Fees for clubs using council-owned sports pitches could also rise. |
| After the Blaenau Gwent meeting in Ebbw Vale, Mr McCarthy said. "We are now no stranger to collaborating with other local authorities to deliver some services, as we have found this can provide better value for money and secure the future of those services. | |
| "Teaming up with people in the local community has also meant the retention of some facilities which were facing closure. | |
| "Where possible, we will consider alternative ways of delivering services to local people." | |
| The latest round of authority budget meetings follows a decision by Powys council on Wednesday to make savings of about £20m which will result in the loss of around 400 jobs. | The latest round of authority budget meetings follows a decision by Powys council on Wednesday to make savings of about £20m which will result in the loss of around 400 jobs. |
| Carmarthenshire council leader Kevin Madge said he could not rule out redundancies either. | Carmarthenshire council leader Kevin Madge said he could not rule out redundancies either. |
| "Nobody wants to put up council tax," he said. | "Nobody wants to put up council tax," he said. |
| "We are trying to protect services, services that people want us to protect - lollipop people, street cleaning, highways - but we do have to save £12m in the next financial year and £31m over the next three years. | "We are trying to protect services, services that people want us to protect - lollipop people, street cleaning, highways - but we do have to save £12m in the next financial year and £31m over the next three years. |
| "This is the start of some very tough times. I have been in local government for 35 years and I've never known it be this bad. | "This is the start of some very tough times. I have been in local government for 35 years and I've never known it be this bad. |
| "It's a problem facing all my colleagues around Wales. I don't think there's a council that's not facing cuts." | "It's a problem facing all my colleagues around Wales. I don't think there's a council that's not facing cuts." |
| Mr Madge said he was unsure how many redundancies the council would have to make and there had been appeals for people to take early retirement. | Mr Madge said he was unsure how many redundancies the council would have to make and there had been appeals for people to take early retirement. |
| Fees review | Fees review |
| As for controversial plans to increase fees for clubs using council sport pitches, Mr Madge said he understood how this would affect clubs. | As for controversial plans to increase fees for clubs using council sport pitches, Mr Madge said he understood how this would affect clubs. |
| The price rise seems set to go ahead for 2014-15, but the council leader says the increase will be reviewed for 2015-16. | The price rise seems set to go ahead for 2014-15, but the council leader says the increase will be reviewed for 2015-16. |
| One rugby club, Tumble, faces an increase from £49 per match to £235. | One rugby club, Tumble, faces an increase from £49 per match to £235. |
| The fees are aimed at forcing clubs to take over the running of facilities themselves. | The fees are aimed at forcing clubs to take over the running of facilities themselves. |
| "The department dealing with sport pitch fees has to make £2.5m worth of savings," Mr Madge added. | "The department dealing with sport pitch fees has to make £2.5m worth of savings," Mr Madge added. |
| "I've said that we will look again at the price increases for 2015-16 and 2016-17, but next year they will have to go ahead. | "I've said that we will look again at the price increases for 2015-16 and 2016-17, but next year they will have to go ahead. |
| "We are listening to people's concerns but we have to make savings and the £31m [shortfall] won't go away." | "We are listening to people's concerns but we have to make savings and the £31m [shortfall] won't go away." |