COUNCIL tax bills will rise by 1.95 per cent in Torfaen after final budget plans were approved by councillors, despite opposition from some members.

It means bills for band D properties will increase by £27.72 to £1,449.18 in the next financial year.

The increase has been lowered from the planned 3.95 per cent in the council’s medium term financial plan, but some opposition members opposed the proposal due to rises in the costs of living.

The budget also includes a 5.3 per cent increase for school budgets, a commitment to pay the real living wage for staff in social care and a £1 million investment in highways improvements.

Council leader, Cllr Anthony Hunt, said the authority had kept council tax “as low as possible while not pulling the rug from under local services”.

He said freezing council tax would mean steeper rises in future years and would be “a gimmick”.

“I really have hope in setting the budget this year that we are finally seeing the end of the storms of austerity and the pandemic,” Cllr Hunt said.

“I think we have got a real chance now, if we look to the long-term, to build better services, to improve outcomes, to help our communities recover and to help Torfaen become a better place to live in.”

However Conservative councillor Huw Bevan accused Labour members of presenting “a rose tinted report” on the budget.

While welcoming some of the proposals such as investments in education and social care, he said other services had “deteriorated over the years”.

“I can’t support it because again we are asking for more money to come from residents in the borough when they are already seeing fuel prices, gas and electricity and food skyrocketing,” he said.

However Cllr Kelly Preston, executive member for resources, said providing a lower council tax rise of 1.95 per cent over two years was “the right thing to do for our residents” and provided certainty.

Independent councillor Alan Slade said there had been reductions in the amount of money provided by Welsh Government relating to Covid-19, as a hardship fund supporting local authorities comes to an end.

“While the narrative of the budget paints a rosy picture, the numbers not so much,” he said.

Nigel Aurelius, assistant chief executive resources at the council, said while there were some ‘caveats’, it was “an excellent settlement” from the Welsh Government.

The settlement provided the council with a 9.3 per cent rise in funding.

The budget was approved, with 31 councillors voting in favour and 10 against.