CUTS in local government funding "have the potential to seriously compromise the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable members of society", the head of Newport City Council has said.

Reacting to the Welsh Government's draft budget earlier today, Tuesday, Cllr Debbie Wilcox, who is also the head of the Welsh Local Government Association, said she was becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of reductions in funding for council-run areas such as social services.

"Our services are a force for good," she said.

"They are the cement which lock communities together."

She added: "In terms of environmental health, which has been cut by over 40 per cent, further budget cuts have the potential to seriously compromise the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable members of society particularly in terms of food safety.

"All of these services are struggling, and it is our duty to campaign for them and protect them."

She added: "I know that the cabinet secretary Mark Drakeford is facing difficult choices and seeking fairness in budget outcomes.

"We hope to see social services and education treated with parity with the NHS and recognise that crucial role of preventative services in keeping people out of hospital."

Torfaen Council leader Cllr Anthony Hunt, who is also the WLGA's spokesman for finance and resources, said he was concerned local services are "a crossroads".

"We want to work together with the Welsh Government and call on the UK Government to rethink its austerity approach, nothing less than the survival of local services is at stake," he said.

"My belief is that further reductions will lead to diminution and withdrawal of services that will impact on everyone including the most vulnerable in society."