New study launched to look at council income generation

14 January 2016

  • Have your say as a small business or service user in our national survey.

    We’ve launched a new study looking at how councils manage the services that they generate income from across Wales. Services such as:
    • nursery and early years
    • school meals or transport
    • social care
    • sports and leisure
    • car parking
    • planning and building control
    • burials and cremations, or
    • waste and trade refuse.
    Councils have the power to introduce or change the fees associated with specific services that they provide. 
    We want to know what impact this has on the service user, either as a small business or as a member of the public. Our study will focus on 3 areas:
    • Finances - How much money is generated through these charges? What limitations are there?
    • Users and services – Do councils consult effectively with businesses or members of the public when making changes to these charges? How do changes to the price affect the service user?
    • Strategic planning – What processes are currently in place? Are councils assessing the impact as part of their planning?
    Funding levels for councils in Wales are continuing to decline with revenue funding from the Welsh Government approximately £283 million (7%) lower in 2013-14 than in 2010-11.
    The Welsh Local Government Association [Opens in new window] expects the local government shortfall to be in the region of £460 million by the end of 2016.
    Given the scale of cuts that councils have faced over recent years, services that generate income could be significant to how councils deliver with less. 
    You can find out more about this study or take part in our survey by visiting the Income Generation microsite [Opens in new window]. The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete and your responses are completely anonymous. You can also follow the activity on social media via #WAOincomeGen [Opens in new window].
    If you have any queries about the study, please email the Council Studies team.