Ceredigion’s MS and MP have criticised the ‘miniscule’ uplift in Welsh Government funding for Ceredigion County Council.

Publishing its final budget on 20 February, the Welsh Government said it had introduced a guaranteed 3.8 per cent funding floor for all local authorities.

The initial settlement for Ceredigion saw a 3.6 per cent increase in funding from April, with the announcement set to boost council coffers by 0.2 per cent.

Elin Jones MS and Ben Lake MP, however, said even with the extra money, the settlement is still “well below the average settlement for councils.”

They said it will “inevitably mean that Ceredigion County Council will continue to face a challenging financial situation.”

Ms Jones said: “This is a miniscule uplift for Ceredigion Council and will give the council very little flexibility to ease its budgetary pressures.

“By having a lower than average uplift from Welsh Government, the effect of this will be felt by the important local services and the council taxpayers in Ceredigion.

“If the funding floor had matched the average increase of 4.3 per cent, as had been hoped, then the pressure on services and taxpayers in Ceredigion would have been much eased.”

Mr Lake said: "It is disappointing once again that rural councils are being disproportionately underfunded by the Labour Welsh Government.

“There seems to be an inherent bias in the funding formula against rural areas and this needs to be investigated and rectified.

“Council taxpayers in rural areas are having to pay more than their fair share and this is increasingly unsustainable.”