The first phase of consultation for the Council’s 2025/26 Budget will soon start, after Cabinet agreed to continue its established two-phase approach from recent years – combining face-to-face meetings with digital engagement.
Each autumn, the Council takes a comprehensive approach to inform the setting of the following year’s Budget, and engagement with residents and stakeholders is a key part of the approach. The views captured provide senior officers and Cabinet with important information to help inform the Budget-setting process.
Phase one of the 2025/26 budget consultation will start around the end of October 2024. It follows Cabinet Members approving the engagement approach proposed by officers in a report to their October 21 meeting.
The first phase of the consultation will collect residents’ views on prioritising service areas, council tax levels, and efficiency savings. It will take place before Welsh Government’s provisional budget settlement that is currently expected in December, and will be an important factor in shaping next year’s budget.
The second phase of the consultation will then take place in the New Year and will engage residents on a draft Budget Strategy, which will take into account indicative funding levels contained in the settlement.
Residents will be able to take part in the first phase of the 2025/26 Budget consultation by visiting the RCT Let’s Talk engagement website.
The site will give key information and graphics outlining the budget’s context and background, plus engagement tools to allow feedback. This includes an interactive Budget simulator allowing residents to choose the services that are most important to them on a sliding scale, based on the available finances.
Over the coming weeks, the Council’s social media channels will be used to promote the consultation and encourage engagement, while emails will be sent to key stakeholders (including the Citizens’ Panel, councillors and staff).
Offline, a telephone consultation option is available through the Council’s contact centre, while paper surveys and information can be sent upon request – with a consultation Freepost address available for postal responses. Please send these to Freepost (RUGK-EZZL-ELBH), Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Fourth Floor Office, 2 Llys Cadwyn, Pontypridd, CF37 4TH.
There will also be several face-to-face engagement events out and about in local communities. These will be used to outline the budget approach, answer questions, and collect people’s views. The events will allow local residents to speak directly with Cabinet Members and senior officers about the Council’s services. The dates and locations will be shared by the Council once finalised.
Officers will also engage with established ‘Neighbourhood Networks’ via the RCT Together Team – plus specific groups like the Older Persons Advisory Group, the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, the School Budget Forum, the Community Liaison Committee, the Disability Forum, the Armed Forces and Veterans Group, and the Youth Engagement and Participation Service.
Councillor Maureen Webber, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Council Business and Corporate Estates, said: “Over several years we’ve developed a trusted approach to consulting residents about the Council’s Budget setting process for the next financial year. Our comprehensive range of activities is now more interactive and varied than before with over 1,200 people involved last year, helping to inform our decision making.
“On October 21, Cabinet agreed to adopt a two-phase approach once again – asking people for their views on Council priorities, council tax levels and efficiency savings in the autumn as part of phase one, and then focusing on a specific draft Budget strategy in the New Year after Welsh Government’s provisional settlement as part of phase two.
“Last month, officers provided a Medium Term Financial Plan update that outlined the continued financial challenges in the public sector and facing the Council. This is due to several factors including ongoing cost of living pressures – bringing increased demand and costs across our services. Inevitably, every Council in Wales will face a budget gap for 2025/26 and will need to make difficult choices. This will be a key factor in the consultation and our decision making going forward.
“With the phase one consultation getting underway very soon, residents are encouraged to take part – and our interactive budget simulator will allow residents to set their priorities within the available budget. Importantly, our approach also ensures people with no Internet access can fully take part in the consultation, whether at local events, via the telephone, or by post.”
