Plans to slash core funding to Ceredigion County Council’s music service should go back to the drawing board, councillors have said.

The authority’s learning communities scrutiny committee said they want to see more work into proposals for the future of the music service, but the council’s education strategic director Barry Rees has insisted that councillors don’t need to make a decision on the controversial proposals as it is an “operational” matter and a service will still be in place.

The council wants to significantly reduce the funding it provides to the service for its core funding, but claims that the service could actually be improved by allowing income to go directly to the service, which officers say could pay for additional staff and extend the range of instruments that are taught, alongside possible changes to when lessons are taught.

But campaign group Friends of Ceredigion Young Musicians has cast doubt on the plans and warned that the figures do not support the department’s claims.

Owen Roberts, on behalf of the Friends, said the group felt the authority’s figures comparing spending to other councils were not showing the full picture and said that with the council’s core funding of just over £220,000 being used to pay for a staffing team of six members of staff, that would leave no money for travel expenses or the costs of organising orchestras and ensembles.

However, education Cabinet member Catrin Miles said: “We’re going to tweak, yes, there are going to be cuts, but there are going to be improvements. We need to highlight the positives.”

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