BACK-bench Ceredigion councillors have complained they have been frozen out of making a decision on how additional Welsh Government funding would be spent by the authority.

Ceredig Davies, the leader of the Welsh Lib Dems on the council, said he feared that Cabinet members had been “contemptuous” and decided against discussing the additional £439,000 funding at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 23 February, to avoid opposition ahead of a full council budget meeting the following day.

He said councillors on scrutiny committees had not been given the chance to discuss how that funding would be used before Cabinet members told a meeting of the full council that money should be used to help mitigate National Insurance cost increases and a £30,000 contribution to the Public Service Board.

In an e-mail to council leader Ellen ap Gwynn, Cllr Davies said: “In deciding on the recommended budget to be placed in front of council, Cabinet should not exclude from the scrutiny process any matter, particularly any last-minute financial matter that has an impact or consequence on a provisional budget that had previously gone through the Cabinet and scrutiny process.

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