Conwy Council 'has too many bureaucratic jobs’ claim

The local authority’s estimated funding shortfall for 2025/26 is £31.2 million – before any increase in Welsh Government funding is calculated.

During a meeting of the council’s finance and resources scrutiny committee this week councillors were presented with the first in a series of reports looking at the financial outlook and budget position for 2025/26.

The Local Government Provisional Settlement, which is the annual amount the council receives from Welsh Government, won’t be announced until December 11, but councillors must set a balanced budget on February 27, 2025.

Last year both Conwy and Gwynedd received just a 2% budget increase, the joint lowest in Wales.

According to the latest financial report, the council faces more uncertainty and risk, particularly in relation to council staff pay and inflation.

The pressures are described as “significant” with “very difficult and unpalatable choices” ahead if the council is to make the books balance.

Consequently, another council tax rise and cuts in frontline services are expected next year.

Conwy Council upped council tax by 9.67% last year whilst cutting services’ budgets by 10%, with even schools facing 5% cuts leading to redundancies.

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Speaking at the meeting, Cllr David Carr said the council should look to cut non-essential back-office jobs with a recruitment freeze.

“In the last six budgets that we’ve had, we’ve increased council tax by 54%, and taking inflation into account, we’ve had a 25% real terms increase, so to go back to the residents again with more very high council tax increases, in the current situation, I would caution on that,” he said.

“We do need to balance the budget. I agree with that. We need to look at the non-essential spending of the council, and that’s what we never seem to do.

“I’ve made all these points in the budget, and nothing has been done. We are back here again with nothing being done. If you look on the council website, we are hiring.

“No freeze on jobs. We actually employ more people now than we did last year. Where we are employing the people, I have concerns.”

Cllr Carr then said the council had cut frontline service jobs, including 32 in refuse.

“We are employing too many people in non-essential services, bureaucratic sorts of jobs,” he said.

“People can say they are essential. This seems to be the argument, what is an essential job and what isn’t an essential job.

“And I’m very clear that providing those frontline services, keeping the streets clean and maintaining our schools, and to keep social services viable, they are the frontline jobs.

“There are too many jobs in this council that I would say are not frontline jobs. We do need to look to freeze recruitment.

“We can’t, in the current situation, year on year, employ more people.”

He added: “They (frontline services) are not actually being met, the frontline services my residents are bothered about.

“Like last year, we had the explosion of the weeds, and that’s saved a small amount of money, but the misery it caused people and the upset it caused people to see the roads and the pavements in that state (wasn’t worth it).

“We need to sit down now and define what is essential and what’s a non-essential job in this council.”

But chief executive Rhun ap Gareth was quick to dismiss Cllr Carr’s comments, claiming back-office jobs were essential.

“All the services we provide as a council are essential. The frontline services are supported by back-office staff who are equally as important to the running of this council as anybody else,” he said.

“And I would make the point, as I’ve made countless times, that we have a vacancy control process in play that scrutinises every single vacancy that comes before us.

“Cllr Carr may disagree with that, but I can assure you every single vacancy that comes forward is scrutinised.”

He added: “We have a more robust process of analysing those posts of any local authority that I’m aware of.

“So I’d like to dismiss this myth that all we need to do is put money into the frontline services.

“There are services sitting behind that make those roles absolutely work to the benefits of our residents.”

Cllr Carr responded: “I make these points because I think they are valid points. I’m just an amplifier for what residents are saying.”

Cllr Carr went on to criticise a communication strategy that the council had paid “all this money for” involving social media communications such as public service announcements.

He added: “I don’t see that as an essential job.

“I see people cleaning the streets, emptying the bins, maintaining the parks; I see those as essential jobs, so there is a fundamental difference.”

Cllr Andrew Wood criticised Cllr Carr when he later attempted to raise the matter again.

Cllr Wood said the same questions had been asked and answered by senior officers and councillors “time and time again”.

Meeting chairwoman Cllr Cheryl Carlisle said she believed every councillor had the right to have their say.

Cllr Carr then asked why so many staff were off work with stress, as it was the condition that caused the most absence among council staff.

“Why are people unhappy with team Conwy? People come and work for us, and then they get stressed,” he said.

Cllr Carr was told by the chair the subject wasn’t on the agenda. Cllr Gareth Jones proposed a contingency figure estimating future budget shortfalls should be built into the budget.

This was seconded by Cllr Abdul Khan.

The committee backed this proposal and agreed they had both scrutinised and noted the report, and the matter will be debated further by cabinet, ahead of Welsh Government announcing local government settlements on December 11.