Budget discussions continue in Conwy
Budget 2026/27
Work is ongoing in Conwy to prepare a balanced budget for 2026/27, ahead of the Full Council meeting in March.
A detailed report will be considered by the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet next week.
Welsh Government published the final local government settlement for 2026/27 on 10 January. While the average increase across Wales is 4.5%, Conwy’s settlement is the joint lowest alongside four other councils at 4.1%.
This settlement makes up 71.6% of the funding for Council services next year.
Cllr Chris Cater, Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Planning, said: “Elected Members will be familiar with the funding gap we face in Conwy and how the nearly £11m extra new funding from Welsh Government to support our pressures does not cover this in full.
“There are inherent risks in each option to bridge the gap as we focus on bringing a balanced 2026/2027 Budget to Full Council for approval. Cabinet have supported the business cases in full but have accepted £2.236m savings will come from services. This excludes schools – we have proposed that schools are ringfenced and funded on a standstill, no reduction basis.
“Holding sufficient balances is crucial to deal with unforeseen events and to mitigate risks. Balances are one-off in nature, and we have been advised by our S151 Officer that, if anything, we should seek to increase the level of reserves to continue to provide appropriate resilience. It is only proposed to use £100000 from reserves and this is explained in the report.
“As all the factors are taken into consideration, positive and negative, we are left with a revised remaining shortall of £5.632m. Consequently, a significant contribution will be needed from an increase in Council Tax. The report puts this increase at 6.09% for Council services and an additional 0.41% for the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority.”
Read the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee reports and watch the webcast at: Conwy Local Democracy : Agenda for Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday, 23 February 2026, 10.00 am
Read the Cabinet reports and watch the webcast at: Conwy Local Democracy : Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, 2.00 pm
The Full Council will meet on 5 March 2026 to finalise and agree the Budget and Council Tax for 2026/27.
Posted on 18/02/2026