A BUDGET that cuts Powys County Council’s spending by more than £10m this year has been approved by councillors.

The full council was asked to approve the £237.1m budget, which also includes a proposed 4.25% rise in the council tax, when they met at County Hall, Llandrindod Wells earlier today.

Council deputy leader, Wynne Jones, who is responsible for finance, said the cabinet began planning for the budget back in June but was only able to confirm its plans earlier this month when the Welsh Government agreed at the last minute to provide the council with an additional £1.9m this year.

That meant the council’s main source of funding, from the Welsh Government, will reduce by £5m this year. That cut and other funding pressures mean the council must cut £10.4m to produce a balanced budget.

The cabinet member said government spending cuts will have meant the council has had to save £53m from to 2012 to this April, and by 2019 it will have had to cut spending by £90m in seven years.

Cllr Jones said the cabinet is changing the way services are delivered so that they are maintained in some form.

He said: "This is a budget for change, it’s not about cut, cut, cut.

"If we don’t drive that change it will not deliver the 2020 vision and it will be back to plan B, slash and burn. That is the easiest way but it is not the way anyone in this chamber wants to go."

Cllr Jones said he was "proud" the council was able to fund extra protection for schools, worth £1.273m, and more cash for adult social care, of £1.053m, in the budget.

Funding pressures on the council include a pensions liability, which "really worries," Cllr Jones, more than £400,000 to fund the living wage for council staff and to respond to the impact of the new minimum ’living wage’ for council suppliers, and £150,000 fund its commitments to meet new Welsh language standards.

The closure of Brecon’s Tourist Information Centre is also included in the budget, but the council has drawn back on proposals to axe funding for community run TICs, thought their funding will be reduced.

Funding for school breakfast clubs will be also be removed, saving nearly half a million pounds this year and next, while children will also have to wait until the September after they turn four to start school. The council will however consider increasing the number of hours a week three years olds can attend school to 15.

The council’s youth service will also be restructured to focus on "hard to reach groups" and "young people most in need" with most of the service run by a voluntary group or community enterprise.

Liberal Democrat group leader John Morris was angered that he’d been unable to have his say on the budget after the debate was cut short to allow a vote to take place.

The Labour group criticised cuts to children’s services and Conservative leader Aled Davies said Powys residents are having to contribute nearly 30% of the council’s full budget through council tax while in some other areas of Wales council tax is only 20% of council budgets.

The council tax must be formally approved when the council meets on March 9.