Education services in Ceredigion could be hit by further funding cuts after it emerged that Welsh Government funding for a regional education group was cut by £300,000.

Council chief executive Eifion Evans told council Cabinet members on Tuesday, 21 May, that just days before, he been told that Education Minister Kirsty Williams had announced that the block grant support given to ERW, the regional education consortia which Ceredigion is a part of, was being reduced.

The grant provided £69m last year for education services across the region and work to improve education, but would be reduced by £300,000, he said.

However, the Welsh Government has said it does not accept the claim and instead said that funding had been increased by more than £100,000.

Mr Evans said that, while it was unknown what impact the cut would have on education in Ceredigion, officers working for ERW would have to now consider how to react to the cut.

A council spokesperson confirmed that it had been notified about the funding cut.

They said: “The regional Education Consortia ERW delivers school improvement services across six local authorities in the south west and mid Wales area. It receives grant support directly from Welsh Government on an annual basis that was circa £69m for 2019/19.

"Notification was received yesterday (Monday, 20 May) that the 2019/20 budget had been reduced by £300,000 for the region.

"Specific details on how this will impact on Ceredigion schools is not yet known, but officers from all six authorities and the ERW central team will be evaluating the situation over the coming weeks.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We don’t recognise this figure and have asked for further clarification from ERW and Ceredigion Council about their calculations.

"We reissued the regional grant on 17 May and the amount for the ERW region increased from £39,452,814 to £39,557,814, an increase of £105,000.”

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