THE Welsh government has tabled a £6.4 billion offer to the nation’s councils to “protect and deliver core front-line services” — but Plaid Cymru warned today it could still mean job cuts and council tax hikes. 

Worth an average of 2.7 per cent to councils with a floor at 2.3 per cent, the proposal represents the opening offer from the minority Labour administration in negotiations with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), ahead of publishing a final budget next month.

Announcing the core package, augmented by a further £1.3bn in revenue and £1.08bn in capital grants, Housing and Local Government Secretary Jayne Bryant said: “We have been listening to local government, and we fully recognise the challenges that they face.  

“Our priority has been to provide councils with the stability they need to set budgets which protect and deliver core front-line services.

“We are committed to working with all parties to develop a budget which ensures our public services can continue to operate effectively and which can be passed by the Senedd in the final months of this term.”

Plaid Cymru’s finance spokeswoman Heledd Fychan was unimpressed.

“Plaid Cymru, the Auditor General and the WLGA have warned in the starkest possible terms that such settlement would push local authorities to the brink, with the potential of council tax hikes of over 20 per cent and thousands of job losses now a very real prospect,” she said.

Calling for a review of the funding formula, she added: “We were promised that Wales would be better off under two Labour governments working together. 

“With our councils facing yet another disastrous settlement, we’re yet to see any proof.”