SAVINGS targets set out by the Vale of Glamorgan Council for this financial year look set to fall short by more than £1million.

A revenue monitoring report presented to the council cabinet on Monday afternoon (January 22) forecast that of the £4,017,000 worth of savings that the council had projected for this year, only around £3,008,000 was expected to be met.

The majority of missed savings have come from the council’s visible services department, which had anticipated reducing costs this year by around £819,000. That figure has now been revised to just £10,000.

The report also suggested that the council’s overall spend was now looking likely to come in around £2,700,000 over budget, with the shortfall having to be drawn from the council’s reserves.

Already this year, an additional £1,400,000 has been allocated to cover social care costs from the council’s monetary reserves.

Funding for the Vale council comes predominantly from two core areas – an annual settlement from the Welsh Government, and council tax revenue. Council tax has risen for six consecutive years in the Vale, against a backdrop of a sharp fall in government settlement funding, however the current administration is yet to amend the rates since coming into power last May.

Council leader John Thomas said that cuts made by the Welsh Government were to blame for the missed targets.

"As an authority, we have an excellent track record of delivering high-quality services in an efficient manner," said Cllr Thomas.

"That said, it is getting more and more difficult to maintain vital services in the face of year-on-year cuts to our budget from Welsh Government. Whilst all local authorities face challenging times, the situation is increasingly difficult for this council given that we are one of the lowest funded Councils in Wales.

"This is not new – this is historic, which makes the situation totally unacceptable and unpalatable. It is grossly unfair on both the council and our residents.

"I have corresponded with Welsh Government on this issue since becoming leader and will continue to do so, as I did not come into local government to cut services. I want to deliver services to our communities and residents, many of whom depend on the council for their everyday needs.

"We have already had to save approximately £50 million over the last seven years and have a further £21 million in savings to find over the next three years. We are also being asked by Welsh Government to deliver more services, at a time when specific Welsh Government grants are being cut. Nowhere is this more apparent than in education. I take the education of our children to be hugely important, yet our Welsh Government settlement means that Vale of Glamorgan schools are significantly underfunded when compared to other areas in Wales.

"Given the above context, it is unsurprising that there is pressure on our budgets. We will continue to strive to make efficiency savings but given the year on year reduction to our budget from Welsh Government it is to be expected that some savings are both difficult to achieve and also take longer than anticipated to deliver."