COUNCIL tax in Newport will increase by 4.8 per cent in April under revised plans.

Newport City Council had previously proposed increasing rates by five per cent in its draft budget for the coming financial year.

But it has been revealed the proposed increase - due to be signed off by councillors later this month - was being cut by 0.2 per cent following a public consultation.

Cuts to a Gwent-wide missing children service and a respite centre for disabled children and young people have also been reversed, while an extra £420,000 is being invested into the city's schools under revised budget plans revealed by Newport City Council.

But a number of other cost-saving plans, including closing all six public toilets in the city and introducing parking charges in Belle Vue Park, remain on the cards.

The changes to Newport City Council's 2018-2019 budget were revealed at a meeting of the council's Labour-run cabinet this evening.

Among cuts in the draft budget were to reduce the council's contribution to the Gwent missing children service by £20,000 and reduce services at Oaklands House in St John's Crescent, which provides short breaks for disabled children and their families, from seven days to five, while increasing council tax by five per cent.

But, speaking at the meeting, council leader Cllr Debbie Wilcox said the council tax increase would be cut by 0.2 per cent, costing the council an extra £92,000, while the missing children service's budget reduction will be scrapped and services at Oaklands House will only be cut by one day, with an extra cost of £94,000. She also announced an extra £420,000 would be invested into schools.

But all other planned cuts will go ahead as planned if councillors sign off on the budget later this month.

Cllr Wilcox said the changes had been made following a public consultation, but said maintaining services in the wake of austerity was "an uphill task".

"This is a difficult budget, but it is a confident budget," she said.

She added: "We are trying to do the best we can, but we are living in unprecedented times."

Cabinet members agreed putting together the budget and deciding where cuts would fall had been difficult, with Cllr Ray Truman calling it "a painful process".

And chief executive Will Godfrey said: "It gets a lot harder every year to do what we want to do which is deliver the best services for people."

Speaking after the meeting, leader of the city's Conservative group Cllr Matthew Evans said he believed cuts could be made in other areas with less impact on residents in the city.

"We are not happy about the 4.8 per cent council tax increase," he said.

"There are other areas where they could have found efficiencies and savings."

Other planned cuts include reducing school breakfast clubs from one hour to 30 minutes, with an extra 10 minutes for cleaning up, saving £81,000, as well as scrapping the city’s pupil referral unit, which deals with young people with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties, and setting up a dedicated school catering specifically for them, saving £485,000 over two years.

Councillors will vote on the final budget at a meeting on Tuesday, February 27. The meeting at Newport Civic Centre will begin at 5pm and is open to the public.