Conwy County Borough Council has come under fire over plans to cut £1.26 million from its homelessness prevention budget. The plans have been announced as demand for emergency accommodation soars across the county, with the council expecting its homelessness prevention department to overspend this year.
Earlier this year the council received a £1.26 million grant from the Welsh Government to support its homelessness prevention department. Now that the grant has been awarded, councillors are planning to cut £1.26 million from the homelessness prevention budget to cover unexpected staff pay pressures. These pay pressures could have been funded from reserves that the council has set aside for this purpose, and the issue revisited later in the financial year.
The council’s plans mean that homelessness prevention services in Conwy won’t benefit from the £1.26 million grant awarded by the Welsh Government earlier this year, and the department will likely be overspent by the end of the year.
Cyngor Conwy yn cael beirniadaeth am ostwng y gyllideb atal digartrefedd
Mae Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy wedi bod yn destun beirniadaeth oherwydd cynlluniau i dorri £1.26 miliwn o’i gyllideb atal digartrefedd. Mae’r cynlluniau wedi’u cyhoeddi wrth i’r galw am lety brys gynyddu ledled y sir, gyda’r cyngor yn disgwyl i’w hadran atal digartrefedd orwario eleni.
Yn gynharach eleni, derbyniodd y cyngor grant o £1.26 miliwn gan Lywodraeth Cymru i gefnogi ei adran atal digartrefedd. Nawr fod y grant wedi’i ddyfarnu, mae cynghorwyr yn bwriadu torri £1.26 miliwn o’r gyllideb atal digartrefedd i dalu pwysau tâl staff annisgwyl. Gallai’r arian i dalu am y pwysau tâl hwn fod wedi dod o gronfeydd wrth gefn y mae’r Cyngor wedi’u rhoi i’r neilltu at y diben hwn, a gallai’r Cyngor fod wedi ailystyried y mater yn ddiweddarach yn y flwyddyn ariannol.
Mae cynlluniau’r cyngor yn golygu na fydd gwasanaethau atal digartrefedd yng Nghonwy yn elwa ar y grant o £1.26 miliwn a ddyfarnwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn gynharach eleni, ac mae’r adran yn debygol o orwario erbyn diwedd y flwyddyn.
