Political row over claims of Carmarthenshire Council £1.3m budget 'underspend'
Plaid says the money is already allocated and there is no 'underspend' as Labour calls it
A row has erupted over what the Labour party on Carmarthenshire Council claims is an underspend of more than £1m within the Plaid-led authority's recently set budget.
Carmarthenshire Labour councillors are calling for council tax to be reduced in light of what is perceives is a £1.3 million underspend for Carmarthenshire Council.
Opposition Labour wants Plaid to revisit the council tax rise of 3.5% after it argues a £1.3 million underspend was discovered.
However Plaid has rebuked the claims, stating the money has been allocated within the budget for the 2021/2022 financial year.
Labour claims the so-called underspend is largely attributed to the Welsh Government’s Hardship Fund which has provided more than £20 million to Carmarthenshire Council and covered around 96% of all Covid-related costs.
Carmarthenshire Labour argues the council tax increase will cause significant pressure on struggling families and that the £1.3 million could be used as a one-off refund to ease this burden.
Labour leader on Carmarthenshire Council, Cllr Rob James, who has been campaigning against the inflation-busting council tax rises, said: “We have been saying for months that there was little need to drastically increase the council tax burden on our residents during a time of great difficulty, when the Welsh Government continues to provide unprecedented levels of financial support during this pandemic.
“Our inboxes are full of emails from concerned residents who state that the council tax increase passed on by Plaid councillors, in addition to the police commissioner rise and community council precept increases, could leave them in financial hardship.
“Council tax is a regressive policy, with very little consideration given to the ability of the individual to pay the demand.
“With this once a century pandemic, local Plaid councillors should be pulling out all stops to support local residents rather than blaming others for their own failures.
"We will continue to support residents during this time and ensure their voice is heard loud and clear in county hall."
In response, Plaid has accused the council's Labour leader Cllr James of clutching at election straws in his statement about this year’s tax increase.
Plaid's Cllr Dai Jenkins, the council's executive board member for resources made a tongue-in-cheek jibe at the Labour statement having been issued on April Fool's Day.
He said: "I note that Labour’s press release was issued on April 1 but the public will not be fooled that easily by Cllr Rob James’ self-professed 'loud and clear voice'.
"It’s more like the rustle of Labour clutching at election straws.
“The £1.3m is allocated towards funding projects to help the county’s economy to recover from the shattering blows of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Cllr James also overlooks the obvious fact that the council’s annual budget was set a couple of weeks ago, and council tax demands already issued.
"Those in genuine hardship are eligible for a council tax rebate and various other associated benefits.
“He also forgets, or chooses to ignore, the fact that the Labour Welsh Government had an £800m unspent funding in this year’s budget.
"A £100m of that could have been used to allow Welsh councils to freeze council tax and offset last year’s average 4.8% rise.
“Once again, Labour seeks to outrageously place its own failures at Plaid Cymru’s door, rather than act in a radical way to alleviate the burden of council tax.
"It proves that they’ve run out of ideas, energy, and vision. It’s time for a change.”
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