Council leader: ‘If we do not act now, we will lose everything’

Sean Morgan is the leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, and a Labour councillor representing the Nelson ward.

Caerphilly, like other local authorities across the UK, is facing a series of impossible choices, as we struggle to identify huge financial savings while protecting key services such as social care and education.

We need to plug a £45million gap in our budget, and this monumental task is forcing us to consider some unpalatable and unpopular savings proposals. Savings proposals on Blackwood Miners Institute and Llancaiach Fawr Manor have been in the news recently, but these are just two of many we need to consider to achieve the £45million savings target demanded of us. 

As Leader of the council, I was elected to ensure the council remains sustainable, while delivering essential services. I also have an obligation to ensure the council delivers a balanced budget. But these difficult decisions must be seen in the light of what the council does deliver.

Caerphilly is a leading local authority. We have more leisure centres, libraries, sports pitches and community centres than most councils in Wales and these are delivered while having the lowest level of council tax in Wales. We have an education service that has had an outstanding Estyn schools inspection, and a social services department that is very well thought of by the Care Inspectorate Wales.

Set against this backdrop of success, the scale of cuts now facing us seem even more unpalatable and difficult for residents and councillors to accept.

Unfortunately, if we do not act now, we will lose everything. Some councils are faced with issuing what is known as a ‘Section 114’ notice, which essentially means they are bankrupt. Caerphilly is not in this position at present, but doing nothing is not an option.

It is very disappointing to see that some populist councillors are exploiting this position to score cheap political points. This is not constructive and does nothing to help residents but does feed the negative feedback loop of poisonous and ignorant comments on social media.

We all need to accept that the way we do things in the future must change and some services will inevitably be lost. Our priority is to support the needs of the community and not necessarily the wants. I appreciate this is a difficult message to deliver, but I have a duty to protect the community as we navigate the challenging few years ahead.