Labour councils win 'dodgy' budget deal claim Tories

The Welsh Conservatives claim that there are signs of "dodgy budget manipulation" in the funding cuts faced by local councils. The Tories point out that eight of the ten councils with the smallest cuts in their money from the Welsh Government are Labour controlled.

Welsh Government sources point to the local government funding formula, which they see as being far from cynical or crude, although it's undeniably complicated. They draw attention to the so-called "damping" mechanism, which has protected from even deeper cuts three of the worst-hit councils -Ceredigion, Powys and Monmouthshire. They're led by Plaid Cymru, the independents and the Conservatives respectively.

They still face cuts of between 4.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent, while the three with the smallest cuts -Labour controlled Neath Port Talbot, Newport and Merthyr Tydfil- lose between 2.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent. The largest single factor is that above-average increases in pupil numbers have had an even bigger impact than usual on this year's funding formula. That's because the money for schools is being increased despite cutbacks in overall council funding.