As we move forward into the new year, our team have been working hard to draft a fresh council budget for the coming financial period.
Today (Wednesday) we present our plans to the council cabinet and then start our consultation process, by which we hone our intentions and take on board feedback.
But already I can pledge that all the services we provided in the current year will be protected. Our libraries remain open, our leisure centres thrive, refuse collections are unchanged, the recycling facilities and community hubs are safe. Nothing is being cut out.
And above and beyond, we are finding the money for above-inflation double-digit funding increases for social care and health (up 10.6 per cent) and for education (up by 10.7 per cent). This includes an additional £1m investment in local school budgets to help schools restore attendance levels and standards following the pandemic. Social care and health spending make up nearly three quarters of the entire council budget.
Your Monmouthshire local authority will continue to focus on tackling inequalities and to protect the most vulnerable. As examples, our support for additional learning needs provision will increase as will specialist resources which help some children and young people stay in local schools. And it includes our pace-setting agenda to support neuro-diverse children in all our schools.
We're are able to do this because of the positive approach to council funding from the Westminster Government working cooperatively with our Welsh Government. Labour is putting public service first.
Constructive discussions continue with Welsh Government about additional funding and, as is our custom, we will enter into an open dialogue with you, our residents, to ensure that our priorities are widely shared.
Our creative approach, using the talents of our council teams, means that we can often do more at less cost by doing things a bit differently. It helps us balance the books.
My cabinet colleague, Councillor Ben Collard, who leads on finance, is impeccable in his approach and flexible enough to take on new, helpful ideas when they are presented.
It is no walk in the park to manage a budget of over £200m, and the demands on our services grow faster than our income, but I pay tribute to my colleagues and the council team for the way they pull this process together.