Council tax in the Vale of Glamorgan will increase by 2.9% from April after councillors voted to pass the annual budget.

The council's budget also includes extra spending on building new schools and tackling the climate crisis.

Opposition councillors criticised the council tax increase, as reserves have shot up, calling instead for a freeze this year amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Labour said rising fuel costs and national insurance also affect the council's budget, and the reserves and council tax hike were needed to protect the most vulnerable people in the Vale.

After a tense debate yesterday (March 7), councillors voted to approve the Vale's annual budget, including the council tax increase.

The budget has savings targets of £500,000, and a better-than-expected increase in grants from the Welsh Government, totalling £186 million.

Cllr Neil Moore, leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, said the budget was "probably one of the worst" he had experienced in many years as a councillor, although welcomed the extra funding from the Welsh Government.

He said: "This has probably been one of the worst budget-setting processes that I've ever been through, because of the amount of money that was supposed to be coming from the Welsh Government and Westminster that didn't come.

"We've been very lucky that we've had extra money coming through from the Welsh Government for things like social care. It doesn't make up the loss to local government funding over the last ten years, nowhere near.

"But our council tax band D is still below the Welsh average."

Cllr George Carroll, leader of the Tory group, called for council tax to be frozen given the huge increase in the council's reserves. The increase in reserves is almost double what the council tax hike would raise.

He said: "We have had years of inflation-busting council tax rises which have put considerable pressures and hardships on working people across the Vale of Glamorgan.

"During this time the council has actually managed to generate profits, and so we have seen our reserves increase."

Cllr Carroll continued: "This year we've seen £4.2 million transferred into reserves, which will take the council's cash sitting in the bank to £15.2 million and usable reserves into the hundreds of millions.

"Despite this, we're once again seeing a proposed increase in council tax. It's a significant increase at a time of extraordinary economic hardship.

"The increase will raise an extra £2.4 million, less than the amount transferred into the council's reserves. Other councils across Wales are freezing council tax, such as the Labour-run Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. Given the position of our reserves, it's something I believe we should be doing too."

Cllr Lis Burnett, deputy council leader, said the council tax hike was needed to protect the most vulnerable people living in the Vale of Glamorgan and added that rising costs like fuel and national insurance also add pressure onto the council's budget.

"I'm getting a feeling of déjà vu because every year for the past few years Cllr Carroll has talked about raiding reserves to freeze council tax," said Cllr Burnett. "I do wonder where we would be in terms of general reserves if that had happened. We were very fortunate when we went into the pandemic that we were financially sound because we had those reserves."

She continued: "It's not looking to get better, and we need to make sure that we're able to step up, because at the end of the day it's where the buck stops, in terms of delivering local services to our most vulnerable.

"We need to be for them, and we will be if we pass this budget. Fuel costs and other costs like national insurance are hitting the council as well."