COUNCIL Tax bills in Blaenau Gwent are set to rise by 4.95 per cent from April.

Despite being told to expect a 4.8 per cent funding increase from the Welsh Government for 2025/2026 which was above the 4.3 per cent national average the council says that it will still has a funding gap of £1.5 million that it needs to plug.

The draft settlement was one of the best settlements and saw Blaenau Gwent fourth of the 22 local authorities in the Wales funding list.

This equates to an increase of £7.092 million and will see the county borough funding rise from £147.44 million this year to £154.532 million for next year.Money raised from council tax will go on top of that.

If the rise is agreed than it is expected that next year the council will raise £38.83 million.

This suggest that next year the council will need just under £195 million to run all of its services which includes schools, social services, and bin collections.

Council leader, Labour’s Cllr Steve Thomas said that the Welsh Government draft settlement was “positive” and “much-improved” from the what the council originally assumed it would be.

Cllr Thomas said: “However, there remains significant challenges ahead and services will need to adapt to ensure we can overcome the challenges faced across our communities.”

Blaenau Gwent has highlighted a number of areas across the council where it hopes to generate or find savings or cuts worth a total of £1.930 million.

They also hope to raise an extra £100,000 by putting up council fees by an “average” of three per cent.

Residents and businesses are able to take part in an online poll which asks them to choose two areas of the council that should be prioritised over others.

They will also be asked for their views on the council tax increase.

The results of the poll are expected to be put in front of the Labour Cabinet at a meeting on February 10 along with detailed proposals for the budget.

Once the draft budget is agreed it is expected to go in front of the whole council for a vote at a meeting earmarked for February 20.

The council said: “To help us reduce our funding gap and set a balanced budget we are taking an organisational approach with several themes.”

These are:

Building Review and Reductions .

The council said: “We are taking an organisational approach to consider the use of our assets such as buildings and land, and where appropriate, reducing or ceasing our use. ”

They hope to find £500,000 from this.

Changing the way, we work

“By collaborating with our neighbouring council, Torfaen, we are considering alternative ways of working, considering opportunities to streamline our managerial structures, and investing in new approaches to expensive services.

They hope to find £550,000 from this.

Generating Income

The council said: “We will be looking to generate £380,000 from commercial rents for the industrial units we oversee.”

Review use and provisions of services

The council said: “We are assessing the demand for our services and constantly looking for more economic and effective ways to deliver these.

They hope to find £250,000 from this.

Using Digital Innovation to modernise:

The council said: “Like most organisations we want to use improvements in technology to not only provide our services but to improve then and reduce costs.”

They hope to generate £200,000 from this.

Energy Projects

The council said: “We want to use our geographical position to look to generate income from sources such as solar and wind renewable energy.”

They hope this will “initially” generate £50,000 for the council.