DENBIGHSHIRE County Council's cabinet has supported a proposal for raising council tax in the county by 2.95 per cent.

As part of the budget process, the council has received the draft budget settlement announced by Welsh Government which suggests Denbighshire’s budget will increase by 9.2 per cent for the 2022/23 financial year, with increases of 3.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent the following two years.

The increase in funding comes with a number of new responsibilities the council will be required to fund, including pay increases, ensuring the Real Living Wage for social care workers and mitigation for the end of the Covid Hardship Fund.

The council has a funding gap of £2.623million to fill for the coming financial year. Proposals to fill this gap include operational efficiencies amounting to £634,000 and an increase in Council Tax of 2.95 per cent.

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “Cabinet discussed the council’s draft budget for the 2022/23 financial year at a meeting on January 18.

"During the meeting cabinet agreed to support the proposals and recommended them to full council in order to finalise the budget for 2022/23 at a meeting on January 25.”

Cllr Julian Thompson-Hill, the council's lead member for finance, said last week: “This budget comes after a second difficult year dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, which has put an additional strain on resources for example, continued pressure on social services, schools, children’s services and waste services.

“We have previously made a firm commitment to Denbighshire residents to try and protect services that the public value and expect as much as possible.

“The council has a strong track record of doing this and we have tried to lead by example by being as efficient and effective as possible, reducing our budgets and making savings through better ways of working.

“Councillors will continue to scrutinise the budget over the coming weeks before it is put to full council for discussion and final approval on January 25.”