As we move into a new year with hopes of better times, we attempt to strike a balance between managing pressures brought about by the pandemic and preparing to maximise the opportunities of a post-covid world.

This week, we published our budget proposals for the forthcoming year.

Monmouthshire remains the lowest funded council in Wales, receiving just £1,174 per head of population, well below the Welsh average of £1,611 per head. The gap between the lowest and highest funded councils in Wales has been widening year on year and widened even further this year.

If Monmouthshire was funded just at the level of the average in Wales, we would have an additional £40million to invest in frontline services every year. We continue to lobby Welsh Government for reform to distribute funding more fairly to recognise the additional costs of delivering services in rural areas.

This proposed budget delivers on all our core priorities, including offering children the best possible start in life with more money for schools and helping our older residents retain their independence with better pay for care workers.

In Monmouthshire, we already pay our care workers above the real living wage, but we want to improve pay further for those who care for our most vulnerable.

We will protect and improve our leisure centres, recognising their important role in mental and physical wellbeing.

We will also continue to lead the green agenda, by decarbonising our operations and investing in greener forms of energy including electric and hydrogen.

We need to invest in roads, cycle routes and footpaths, protect bus routes and improve broadband, to ensure a better-connected county.

We believe that the continued rollout of 20mph zones in our towns and villages is also crucial to prioritise road safety, address air quality concerns and improve our towns and villages for those who live there.

These are just a few elements of the budget proposals. I would encourage everyone to share their views on the proposals we are making with us between now and Wednesday, February 16 when the consultation ends at noon.

In light of the ongoing pandemic, we have organised a two-hour Budget livestream from 6.30pm on Thursday January 27, which will provide an opportunity to discuss the proposals and ask questions.

You can read the full details of the proposals at monmouthshire.gov.uk/budget-2022-2023 where you can also to register for the budget livestream and post questions ahead of the session and complete the budget survey.

We’ll be uploading videos of the Budget Engagement event online afterwards, the links to which will be on the webpage listed above. If you have the time, please watch it and let us know your views.