Welsh councils in danger of setting ‘over-ambitious’ goals

Although more Welsh councils have improved their medium-term financial plans and their forecasting skills regarding savings, the auditor general for Wales says authorities must try harder to reduce the gap between income and spending.

According to the report Savings Planning in Councils in Wales, over half the councils have ‘well-considered and effective saving plans’ for 2017 but others risk failing to achieve their in-year savings targets. It found that the main reason for failure of savings was over-ambitious aims which were unrealistic.

Various methods to balance budgets have been used by councils, such as use of reserves, unplanned income, and underspends from within other service areas.

Huw Vaughan Thomas, the Welsh auditor general, said: “Welsh councils have generally managed to reduce expenditure and balance their budgets in line with austerity measures since 2010. However, the scale of annual budget reductions is likely to continue, so I hope that councils will consider the recommendations laid out in this report, and those included in their specific local reports, to offer realistic and robust savings proposals and meet continued reductions in funding.”