“We have not taken these decisions through choice but out of necessity. So dire is the financial outlook for the public sector, thanks to the UK government, some of the decisions we have proposed are certainly not ones we originally intended taking when we formed this administration after the local elections. But let us all be clear where the blame for these tough decisions lays – With the UK government.

“As a result of the cuts from the Whitehall, the Council was faced with a £10M budget gap this year and we therefore have had to take many tough and unpalatable decisions. The constitution of the Council provides Cllr Jarman with the opportunity to come forward with her own alternatives. She has not bothered to take this opportunity and instead prefers to criticise from the sidelines. The options being considered by Cabinet to tackle the reductions in funding that we face, have been debated by the Cabinet fully over the last three months in a number of public meetings. Cllr Jarman has failed to attend any of these meetings, where she could have contributed and potentially have informed the decisions we have made.

“Cllr Jarman receives an additional allowance to undertake this role, but did simply not come forward with any alternatives to help the Council effectively deal with the challenging budgetary climate we face like every other local authority in Wales. She has simply chosen to play politics.

“Cllr Jarman seems to wish to take the easy “opposition” tactic of disagreeing with everything proposed but being unwilling or unable to produce options of her own.”

“This is a complete insult to the people of Pontyclun and Taff Ely and even the wider RCT County.

“Consider Pontyclun was until last May represented by two Plaid Cymru Councillors, the remaining Plaid members have completely failed to stand up for any of the interests of the people they represent in other areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf.

“This was a major strategic development, which will impact on every part of Rhondda Cynon Taf and Labour Councillors and other members of the opposition were present to reflect the concerns and potential effects this development could have had on their community.

“Every community who has a Plaid County Councillor was without a voice at this very important meeting and have therefore failed to meet the responsibilities of being a Councillor.

“Amendments moved by the members present achieved important highways improvements that will benefit the residents of all three valleys in Rhondda Cynon Taf on their daily commutes.

“In the same week that Plaid Cymru councillors failed to bring forward not a single amendment to one of the most challenging budgets this Council has faced since its inception, further more not one Plaid Councillor even attended the Cabinet meeting to hear the council budget decisions being considered and discussed, this begs the question what is the point of Plaid Cymru and its Councillors.

“Despite their criticism from the side lines they have simply failed to come forward with any alternatives, let alone any that are credible or costed. Plaid are very clearly devoid of any ideas or principles to stand up for this Council against the continued onslaught of cuts from the CONDEM Government.”

At this weeks Full Council Meeting following an attack by the Plaid group on the proposed budget an amendment was suggested by Labour members that Councillor Jarman should consider resigning as the paid Leader of the Opposition, for failing to come forward with any alternatives to help the Council meet the £10M budget gap it faces as a result of cuts from the CONDEM government.

 
“The Cabinet is faced with making very tough and unpalatable decisions that unfortunately are very necessary as a result of the cuts to public sector funding being imposed on Wales by the Tories and Lib Dem. Just as Thatcher attacked our nationalised industries in the 1980s, Cameron and Clegg are set on doing the same to our public sector and the consequences of their cuts policies are to be considered next week.

“Like every other Council in Wales, indeed across the UK, we are having to consider how we can cut our cloth accordingly to meet these very difficult financial circumstances and in Rhondda Cynon Taff we want to ensure as far as we possibly can that we protect the essential services local people heavily rely upon and do as much as we can to safeguard local jobs.

 
“The financial outlook is bleaker than anyone anticipated and this means that we will have to consider options we did not believe would be necessary six months ago. This means very tough decisions now and the need for further difficult decisions in the future. We are not making these decisions out of choice but out of necessity as we have to work within the significant reduction in resources imposed by the UK government. So harsh are the cuts from the Lib Dems and Tories it is clear that we will not be able to honour all of our manifesto commitments

 
“One such example is our commitment to maintain weekly collection of all waste. As the former Cabinet Member for Environmental Services I have always championed the value of weekly collections of all waste, but so severe are the challenges we face that our previous view of maintaining this service will need to be reconsidered. This is not a proposal that has come forward without significant discussion, but by maintaining our weekly collection cycle for recycling recycling but with fortnightly for black bag waste we can save a significant amount of money and so reduce the need for even tougher decisions in other areas. We are also one of the only Councils in Wales not to adopt this approach and it is evident that this approach is working satisfactorily in many other areas. The blame for this change lies squarely with the CONDEM government.

 
“It is apparent from the proposals that I and my Cabinet wish that we did not have to consider them but we have a duty to manage the finances of this Councils and cannot shy away from difficult decision including reviewing our charging policies in order that we can continue to offer our core services and that would otherwise be under threat.

 
“We will also need to set a responsible level of Council Tax to deal with these difficult times. Setting Council Tax at a low level will simply force further tough decisions and require even deeper services cuts that will impact on the public. And whilst there was a mix of views in the feedback from the first phase of our consultation many accept this fact and appreciate the difficult situation we find ourselves in. In previous years people in receipt of benefit have been shielded from the annual increase in Council Tax. Unfortunately, for the first time these families are set to forced to make a contribution to their Council Tax as a result of the, uncaring, benefit changes imposed by the UK Government.

 
“We anticipate the usual rhetoric from opposition Councillors but they will once again fail to come forward with any costed alternatives.

 
“The Lib Dem and Tory members on this Council know full well that it is down to their government that we are making these difficult decisions.

 
“So severe and savage are cuts being imposed by the UK Government, if we continue to protect schools and social care we will have to reduce remaining service budget by up to 25% over the course of this administration. This demonstrates the magnitude of the decisions we face over the medium term.

 
“Despite the unprecedented financial challenges we have before us we will do our upmost to ensure that investment is made available to continue to improve school standards and protect the young and elderly. We will also ensure that, where we can, we create employment opportunities for young people with the present Apprenticeship scheme being expanded as well as further investment in new schools and on the roads within our area .

 
“We will also ensure that the Council is resourced as best it can be to meet the fallout from the UK Governments Welfare Reform Proposals which are set to take around £30M out of our local economy and hit some of the most vulnerable people in Rhondda Cynon Taf. These draconian changes to welfare by the UK government will inevitably bring addition financial pressures to bear on this Council and compound the need for tough decisions to meet this severe financial strain.

 
“We will need to revaluate how we deliver all our services to ensure that the most important are safeguarded and continue to improve. Whilst tough, we will take these very necessary decisions to mitigate as best we can the effect of these difficult economic times.

 
“We know from the Tory Chancellor’s Autumn Statement that the Financial Outlook continues to be bleak for the public sector and therefore in addition to these initial proposals the Council will to consider even tough choices in the coming year.”

 
To bridge the £9.6M budget gap the Council faces, the Cabinet are set to consider the following decisions as potential options:

 
Weekly Recycling Collections with Fortnightly Residual Waste (Black bags and bins) Collections

 
By moving to a weekly recycling collection with a fortnightly residual waste collection a saving of £1.5M can be achieved which can be directed at protecting other essential frontline services. The Council will collect all recycling, including food and nappies weekly with non recyclable black bag waste being collected fortnightly. All trade waste will continue to be collected weekly. It is anticipated that this will also encourage a better level of participation in recycling.

 
Ensuring Every Part of the Council Works Efficiently and Effectively

 
Deliver over £4M worth of efficiencies savings across all Council Departments and areas of service. In addition new arrangements for the delivery of street cleansing and grass cutting arrangements will achieve an addition £500K saving.

 
Since 2004 the Council has already achieved £56M worth of efficiency through different approaches to service delivery and reductions in senior management headcount as part of its Medium Term Financial Planning.

 
Bulky Refuse Collection Charges

 
To protect other areas of service and safeguard this valued service proposals to introduce a £10 charge for the collection of up to 3 bulky waste items. Rhondda Cynon Taff is currently one of the only Councils in Wales to not charge for this service and this move brings the Council in line with many other Councils.

 
Reduction in Marketing and Events Funding

 
As a result of the difficult financial climate it is proposed to reduced the marketing and events budget by around £200k. As part of this the Councils current events programme will be revised. To achieve additional savings the Council will seek to use alternative methods to meet its statutory advertisement obligations and look to use other forms of communication with the public such as social media to reduce its marketing costs.

 
Review of Service Charges

 
To ensure as many essential services are protected as possible despite the reductions in funding it is proposed to increase services charges by 5% above Retail Price Index. This will mean that many of the services the Council provides that would otherwise be under threat can be safeguarded. In the main this will mean a 10-20p increase on the services the Council charges for already. This would deliver an additional £1M to help protect frontline services.

 
Council Tax Levels

 
A Council Tax Level of 3.95% is proposed for Members to consider. This is seen as a sensible level in light of significant budget gap the Council faces. Each additional one percent of Council Tax raises £840K to support key Council services. In light of this, this Council Tax Level is proposed to safeguard as many Council services as possible. This means that the average Band A property in Rhondda Cynon Taff will see a 55 pence increase per week.

As soon as the Council returns after Christmas we will be finalising the details of plans to deal with the significant reductions in funding local government has received. We are currently facing a budget gap of over £10M. Just like every other local authority and other public sector organisation such as the Health Service and the Police we are dealing with an unprecedented level of funding cuts. Every aspect of the public sector and what we are able to deliver is set to look very different thanks to sweeping cuts that are being imposed by the UK Government.

It is unfortunate that we will need to start the New Year by taking the necessary and difficult decisions to bridge the gap in funding we have received. On the face of the options before us none of these will be popular but they will all be very necessary. We will however attempt to ensure as far as we possibly can that frontline services where possible are protected and also local jobs.

We will also need to consider how we support the difficulties people will face with the onset of Welfare Reform in the New Year. Thanks to Cameron and Clegg many of the poorest residents in Rhondda Cynon Taff will be made to pay Council Tax for the first time. It was a relief to learn in the run up to Christmas that opposition parties supported the Welsh Government proposals to limit the impact of the changes to Council Tax Benefit introduced by the Tories and Liberal at a UK Level. A motion condemning the changes to Council Tax Benefit was recently passed by the Council.

At the same meeting we also considered an urgent motion stating our strong opposition to the closure of Remploy Porth by the CONDEM Government. This motion was supported by every Councillor except both the one Lib Dem and Tory Councillor. Some of the language used by these Councillors was wholly inappropriate and unsympathetic.

I was delighted to attend the annual Nos Galan Celebrations. This event goes from strength to strength each year, with this year’s event being so successful that the number of entrants had to be capped this year because the event has become so popular. Can I thank the Nos Galan Committee and all its Volunteers and our Council Events Team for the success they make of this event.

I am sure in my next column I will be having to list the detail of the decisions we will need to take to deal with these difficult times. As a Council we will find these decisions extremely unpalatable but we are faced with no alternative so severe are the cuts from this Tory Liberal Government.

Christmas has come early to fitness enthusiasts in the area as the new-look gym is officially opened as Phase One of the multi-million-pound project is completed in time for the festive season.

The development at Llantrisant Leisure Centre forms part of RCT Labour’s wider £6m refurbishment programme to provide premier leisure facilities across the County Borough.

Construction work on the major project began in September 2012 and is expected to be completed and officially opened fully to the public early 2013. Llantrisant Leisure Centre remains open throughout the redevelopment project.

As well as the new 95-station fitness suite, other new facilities coming soon include a new multi-purpose studio and new state-of-the-art changing facilities, creating a new ‘Changing Village.’

Additional works at Llantrisant Leisure Centre include a new reception area, café and conference suite. The latter will be a dual purpose facility to accommodate the extensive classes/activities programme available at the site.

The Swimming Pool will remain open for public swimming from Monday to Saturday (7.15am until 9am) until mid March 2013 whilst Phase 3 of the redevelopment project is undertaken.

The swimming pool will be closed between January 2 until January 17, 2013, due to major demolition work. All other facilities will remain open during this period.

Cllr Robert Bevan, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, Leisure and Tourism, said: “We are delighted to announce the opening of the new 95-station gym at Llantrisant Leisure Centre.

“It marks a major milestone in this new redevelopment at Llantrisant Leisure Centre as part of the Council’s on-going commitment to improving leisure facilities across the County Borough.

“Llantrisant Swimming Pool was opened in the 1960s and was subsequently re-developed during the 1980’s and was re-branded as Llantrisant Leisure Centre offering a wide range of sport and social activities for people of all ages and abilities.

“As part of its Leisure For Life Campaign that aims to encourage people of all ages and abilities to participate in sport, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has committed itself to this development to take sport and recreation into the 21st Century.

“The emphasis is on actively encouraging people to participate in exercise as part of their regular routine, thereby reaping the benefits of improved health and wellbeing generally.”

Work on the multi-million pound project at Llantrisant Leisure Centre is being carried out by Alliance Leisure and sub-contractors Creatability.

The new design of Llantrisant Leisure Centre also includes significant energy-saving measures such as LED lighting, PIR-controlled switching and heat recovery air conditioning and ventilation systems.

This will result in significant efficiencies and will improve the Leisure Centre’s carbon footprint.

Llantrisant Leisure Centre will continue to deliver services throughout the redevelopment project, including the Zenith Fitness Studio and an extensive classes programme.

The licensed bar at Llantrisant Leisure Centre is open Monday to Friday from 7pm until; 11.30pm and Sunday from 7pm until 11pm.

Customers are advised to contact the Centre or access the website for the most up to date information on class times.

Cllr Powell failed to turned up to ask his questions, surrendering his opportunity to ask the two questions he had tabled to be answered. Demonstrating clearly how important the regeneration of Pontypridd is to him. So yet again, the Lib Dems have been shown up for not doing what they said they would. Before the general election, they said they would oppose increases in student tuition fees. They said they would oppose a rise in VAT. And they also said they were against the Tories’ plans to cut too far and too fast in their approach to deficit reduction. All three pledges abandoned so I suppose we should not be surprised when we see Cllr Powell saying he is going to do something in the hope of getting some credit but then not actually following through with his promises.

Cllr Powell’s behaviour shows a complete disregard for the democratic process- why on earth table questions to be answered on a set date at a public Council meeting and then not bother to turn up and ask them? To borrow and re-attribute a phrase which the man himself has sought to use, albeit lacking credibility, ‘the Lib Dems both nationally and locally in RCT simply don’t do what they say on the tin’.

County Borough Councillor Maureen Webber
Cabinet Member for Council Business

During the debate of an urgent Motion tabled by the Council’s Deputy Leader to demonstrate opposition to the proposed closure of Remploy at Porth, Cllr Joel James and Cllr Mike Powell used wholly unsympathetic language toward the job losses likely to be forced upon those employed at Remploy by their colleagues in the UK government.

As part of their contribution to the debate and in voting against the Motion, Cllr Mike Powell commented ‘you’re only fit to work in a Remploy factory’ and ‘I don’t care about Porth’. These comments were support by his coalition colleague Cllr Joel James who commented ‘I don’t support Remploy, the system does not work’.

Deputy Leader of the Council, County Borough Councillor Paul Cannon said:

“I was disgusted to hear such reckless and unsympathetic comments from the two Lib Dem and Tory Councillors here in RCT.

“The closure of the Remploy factory in Porth will have devastating consequences for those employed there, who in the current economic climate, created by their parties in government, will find it almost impossible to find alternative employment.

“Just as the Tories showed their lack of compassion and their uncaring nature during the closure of heavily industry here in the Valleys in the 1980s they still adopt exactly the same approach and in this case it is the employees of Remploy and their families who are set to suffer under them.

“To my mind the comments made by the two Councillors give us clear understandings of their wider political beliefs. With such comments they are certainly not in politics to stand up for people’s needs and very clearly support the approach being taken by their Leaders Cameron and Clegg.

“This was a very serious Motion tabled to place on record the Council’s support for the employees of Remploy and to support the devolution of responsibility for the Remploy site to the Welsh Government so that the interests of its employees and our local economy could be protected.

“Some of their comments in relation to this matter may also turn out to be a matter for the Council’s Standards Committee.”

Lib Dem Mike Powell and Conservative Joel James were the only Councillors to vote against the Motion, which was supported by every Labour, Plaid Cymru and Independent Councillor.

Notes to Editor:

The Notice of Motion read:

URGENT NOTICE OF MOTION under Standing Order 10.5:

This Council strongly opposes the decision of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat led UK Government to initiate a further round of Remploy closures which threatens the future of the only remaining factory in Rhondda Cynon Taf at Porth.

This Council calls upon the UK Government to urgently devolve responsibility for the Porth site to the Welsh Government so that the interests of its employees and our local economy can be protected.

Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on IFS analysis of the autumn statement, said:

“The IFS has exposed who is paying the price for George Osborne’s economic failure.

“Their figures show that middle and low earners lost out from the Autumn Statement, with the poorest 40 per cent losing more than the richest tenth.

“Families with children were hit the hardest of all, with a one earner couple with children losing £534 a year on average by the end of the Parliament. Despite the Chancellor’s claims to be focusing on scroungers, it is actually striving working families who are being targeted.

“The reason why there is a big hole in George Osborne’s plan is that his reckless policies choked off the recovery and have pushed up long-term unemployment. That is why David Cameron’s promise to balance the books by 2015 has been broken.”

Despite the best efforts of the Welsh Government to protect Wales’ Public Services from the UK cuts, the reduction in the Welsh revenue budget next year means we face making some extremely unpalatable decisions as a council if we are to have a balanced budget for the next financial year.

On top of this we will have to set in place measures to mitigate the devastating effects the UK Government’s Welfare Reform Act will have on Rhondda Cynon Taff, taking around £30M out of the local economy year on year and hitting the most vulnerable people living locally.

These changes won’t just affect benefit cheats and scroungers as portrayed, these changes will actually affect hard working families who rely on additional support to pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads.

On top of this, opposition parties in the Assembly last week voted against the Council Tax Relief Scheme which it was hoped would assist those who under the new measures being introduced by the UK Government will be forced to pay Council Tax for the first time. By playing politics with this scheme, Plaid Cymru, the Tories and Lib Dems are prolonging the uncertainly for many thousands of families in Rhondda Cynon Taf who are to be hit by the cut and in some cases the removal of Council Tax Benefit altogether.

This is because the Tory/Lib Dem Government do not understand that many people hit by these changes will simply not be able to afford to pay Council Tax.

As councillors, we were elected in May with a commitment to protect frontline services and local jobs and we will endeavour to achieve this, but to achieve this very tough decisions will be necessary in other areas of our service provision. We will not be making these decisions out of choice but out of necessity to ensure we shield the services on the very frontline and those which the most vulnerable rely upon heavily.

Thanks to the Tory and Lib Dem cuts the Council faces a £13.5M budget gap next year, with similar large sums moving forward over the next three years. This means one thing and one thing only. Cameron and Clegg will force us to reduce or remove many services that are valued by the residents of Rhondda Cynon Taf. This will be no easy task but I hope that instead of seeking to score political points opposition Councillors in RCT will work with our administration to deal with these very difficult times.

Councillor Andrew Morgan
Cabinet Member for Frontline Services

The provisional settlement announced in October, indicated a 0.4% increase in this Council’s budget, which when set against a context of inflation of around 2-3% and significant increases in service demand and subsequent pressures is likely to mean the toughest ever budget for RCT since it came into being in 1996. The projection is for an initial budget gap of up to £13.5M although we await the final settlement this week.

This will mean we have to take tough decisions to produce a balanced budget and let me frank about where the blame lies for this. The Welsh Government can only make available to services such as local government and the NHS the funding it receives itself from Westminster and the swingeing cuts imposed by the Tories and Lib Dem UK Government mean it has a significantly smaller cake to share amongst the Welsh public sector.

Throughout our time in control of the Council since 2004, we have shown that we are prepared to take the necessary tough decisions to safeguard the long-term interests of this Council, its services and the residents of Rhondda Cynon Taf. I can assure people we will always seek to do the right thing for our County Borough and our aim is to set a budget that both maintains as far as possible key services and jobs and ensures the ongoing financial stability of the Council, despite the Tory / Lib Dem attack on the public sector.

The Council is trying to do all it can to mitigate the impact of Welfare Reform being introduced by the UK Government. Unfortunately with the likelihood of yet further cuts to welfare support and public sector funding set to be included in this week’s Autumn Statement by the Chancellor George Osborne, the pain being forced upon the vulnerable by Cameron and Clegg is set to get much harsher.

As Christmas draws closer, the Council is pleased to be extending its free parking initiative in all of its Pay and Displays car parks from one to two weeks this year. This will support local businesses and town centres during the busy festive shopping period and build on the well established pre-Christmas initiative. This is applicable after 10.00am and starts on Monday 10 December.

Although there are clearly a few weeks to go before the climax of the season itself, I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.