Council tax in Gwynedd could rise by 8.23 per cent.

Councillors will set a budget on 6 March when they will consider raising council tax 8.3 per cent, and approving savings and cuts of £519,000 to address an £8.8 million funding gap.

Gwynedd councillors say they want to protect the most vulnerable and the services that matter most to residents when they set the budget.

Gwynedd Council say they do not receive sufficient money from Welsh Government to fund public services, but are committed to protecting funding available for school budgets and investing in services relied upon by the most vulnerable people in Gwynedd, including safeguarding and supporting vulnerable children, services for disabled children and social services for adults.

Despite careful financial planning year on year, which has seen budgets for local services slashed, Gwynedd say they will have no choice but to increase the council tax.

A proposal has been presented to councillors to implement plans to increase income, reduce resources or merge services to try to keep council tax as low as possible.

Cllr Huw Wyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Finance, said: "None of us have chosen to enter local politics to cut services and raise taxes, but unfortunately due to a lack of adequate funding from Welsh Government, this is the only option to enable the council to set a legitimate budget for 2025/26.

"During discussions we have already held, we have agreed a package of measures to protect funding available to Gwynedd's school budgets and to invest in services relied upon by the most vulnerable people in the county.

“We have also committed to reducing waiting times for care and to supporting independent companies which provide care services on behalf of the council to meet the demands of the increase in National Insurance costs.

“We are pleased we are able to protect these areas, but unfortunately we will have no option other than to increase council tax so we can set a balanced and legitimate budget.”

The council say the funding gap exists because of a continued increase in demand for key services provided in Gwynedd, such as adult care services, children’s care services and waste services, increased costs facing the council (increasing employer National Insurance contributions has resulted in an increase of up to £4.5 million in staffing costs) and Welsh Government not providing Gwynedd with sufficient funds to meet these demands. Of the 22 councils in Wales, Gwynedd received the second lowest settlement for 2025/26.

Council Leader Nia Jeffreys added: "We have been warning the government for a long time that a lack of funding year on year is putting services at stake, and we call on them to fund local councils fairly. Again this year, we have no option but to cut services and increase tax.

“We are doing everything we can to keep council tax as low as possible but without fair government funding we have no choice.”

Those concerned about their finances should visit www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/CostOfLivingCrisis