Six Welsh council leaders have written to the Welsh government warning them that without a change to the way local government is funded there will be ‘substantial cuts’ to frontline services.
The letter, signed by all the local authority leaders sitting on the North Wales Regional Leadership Board, read: ‘Teachers, social workers, librarians and all manner of other workers delivering local services will all be subject to job losses without increased funding for local authorities.’
The letter argued that councils have been hit by a number of factors outside of their control, including revenue support cuts and legislation that requires more services that are not fully funded by the Welsh Government.
It also highlighted the pressures created by the increase in demand from an ageing population, and the rising workforce costs from nationally agreed pay and pension awards.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: ‘We have done our best to protect local government in Wales from the worst of the austerity cuts imposed by the UK Government over the last decade.
‘As a result of the UK Government’s ongoing austerity agenda, the Welsh Government’s budget this year is almost £1bn lower in real terms than in 2010/11.
‘We will continue to work with local government to deliver the best possible settlement for people in Wales.
'However, with Brexit and no clarity about our budget beyond April 2020, we are all facing unprecedented uncertainty about the future.'