The 2026-2027 budget for Ceredigion County Council has been approved in a Council meeting held on Monday 02 March 2026.
Ceredigion County Council’s Budget for 2026-2027 has been set at £221.499m. This results in a Council Tax increase for County Council Services of 4.75% (equating to a monthly £7.47 increase for a typical Band D property). This includes a 0.10% Council Tax increase required to fully fund the Fire levy of £5.9m set by Mid and West Wales Fire Authority.
In setting the Council’s Budget, despite facing financial cost pressures totalling some £9.3m (equivalent to an inflation rate of 4.4%), Councillors agreed to invest in several key areas. This includes continuing the Council’s Graduate Employment Scheme, an additional £600,000 for schools, £1m of match funding for future strategic capital schemes (for example Aberystwyth Coast Protection and primary school extensions / refurbishment) and investment in the voluntary trust run swimming pools in Aberaeron and Llandysul.
Councillor Bryan Davies, Leader of Ceredigion County Council, said: “Like all Local Authorities across Wales, Ceredigion continues to face financial pressures, where maintaining Council services remains challenging. The position has been helped significantly by the Budget Deal agreed in December between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, which meant the Council’s core funding for 2026-2027 from Welsh Government increased from 2.3% to 4.1%. As a result and for the second consecutive year there will be no direct cuts to services provided in Ceredigion.
“We are grateful to everyone who took part in our Budget Engagement, and the message was clear: the majority of residents who responded did not want to see cuts to essential frontline services and there was an acknowledgement that there is a cost to this.
The budget has been broken down to the following:
- 75% of the Council’s budget (£167m) will be spent on Schools and Lifelong Learning (30%), Through Age and Wellbeing Services, which includes Social Care (35%), and Highways and Environmental Services (10%).
- A further 11% of the Council’s budget (£23m) is needed for costs that are largely fixed – the Mid and West Wales Fire Authority Levy, Members Allowances, Capital Financing Costs and awarding relief under the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
- This leaves 14% (£31m) to cover the cost of running all other Council services.
“We continue to provide high quality services for the residents of Ceredigion. I’m especially proud that we are investing in new job opportunities through the Ceredigion Graduate Placement Scheme, in housing opportunities through the Ceredigion Community Housing Scheme and in vocational opportunities in agriculture through Llettytwppa Farm in Lampeter. We are also committed to planning for the future to help enable more aspirations to come to fruition. Exciting opportunities lie ahead”.
The Council’s 2026-2027 budget also includes £8.1m for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. This is a means tested scheme.
