THE TOTAL debt held by Merthyr Tydfil Council rose by more than 20% last year.
Figures from the BBC’s Shared Data Unit show that for Merthyr Tydfil the total debt at the end of quarter four for 2023/24 was £130.56m and this rose to £158.24m at the end of quarter four in 2024/25 meaning a £27.68m rise or 21.2%.
The figures show the total debt per person at the end of 2023/24 for Merthyr Tydfil was £2,228.25 which rose to £2,700.72 at the end of 2024/25, a rise of £472.46.
The analysis of figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show UK councils owe a combined £122.2bn to lenders, equivalent to £1,791 per resident, as of April 2025.
They also show that is up 7% from a total of £114.5bn, the equivalent of £1,677 per resident, a year ago.
The total borrowing figure for Wales at the end of 24/25 was £6.43bn with the debt per person in Wales being £2,034.
A total of 16 of the 22 Welsh local authorities saw an increase in debt from 2023/24 to 2024/25.
The councils that saw the biggest increases in debt over this period were Torfaen (26.8%), Newport (22.34%) and Merthyr Tydfil (21.2%).
In terms of other Welsh councils, Cardiff (Wales’ largest council) had the highest level of debt which went up by 1.39% to over £980m.
Swansea, had the second highest level at the end of 2024/2025 at £636.06m but this was down from £640.96m the previous year.
When it came to the level of debt per person in Wales however, Denbighshire and Wrexham had the highest amounts with Denbighshire’s figure being £3,370.02 and Wrexham’s being £3,825.80 at the end of 2024/2025.
Councils can borrow funds to invest in projects such as schools, leisure centres and theatres – they can also borrow to invest in property that will bring in an income over and above repayments on the debt.
A Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) spokesperson said: “Councils spent around £2.3bn in 2024-25 on long-term capital investment like schools, housing and roads.
“Some of this requires additional borrowing and it is no surprise that levels are going up.
“All capital projects are carefully budgeted for and guidance is strictly following to ensure that all new borrowing is affordable.”
A Merthyr Tydfil Council spokesperson said: “The additional borrowing is in line with expectations and required to finance the local authority’s ambitious capital programme which includes our Sustainable Communities for Learning programme, along with essential highways and engineering works.
“The level of borrowing undertaken is fully aligned with the council’s actual borrowing requirement, based on historical and current capital expenditure.
