Ceredigion County Council receiving the lowest percentage increase in funding in Wales has been “a significant blow” to staff that will lead to redundancies, Ceredigion’s MS has said.

Before Christmas, the Welsh Government outlined the funding settlement for 2021, with figures revealing that Ceredigion would receive a two per cent increase in funding – the lowest in Wales.

Along with Wrexham, it is just one of two authorities in Wales that will see an increase of less than three per cent, with Newport City Council seeing its funding rising by 5.6 per cent.

Ceredigion MS Elin Jones has urged the Welsh Government local government minister, Julie James, to reconsider, with a consultation on the settlement ongoing.

Ms Jones has called for a “funding floor” to be introduced that would see all authorities receive a minimum of a three per cent rise.

Ms Jones, in her letter to the housing minister, said: “I believe that this would provide Ceredigion County Council with an additional £1 million, which would enable it to retain the council tax increase at 3.5 per cent and also ensure that it doesn’t have to make too many of its staff redundant at this most difficult of times.

“I’m sure I do not need to point out to you that our local authorities have been critical to the effort to deal with coronavirus and therefore it has been a significant blow to the morale of local authority employees in Ceredigion to see that the funding settlement for Ceredigion was only set at a two per cent increase.”

A formal consultation on the settlement ends next month.