LAST week saw the Welsh Government announce its draft settlements for local authorities which we know will lead to some really tough decisions having to be made.

Here in Blaenau Gwent, we are seeing a decrease of 2.8 percent from £113.2m in 2014/15 to £110m in 2015/16.

The Welsh Labour Government has recognised that this is a challenging settlement but is a consequence of the large scale budget reductions being imposed by the Tory-led UK Government.

The Welsh Government’s budget for 2015/16 will be around 10 per cent lower in real terms compared with 2010/11.

I was at a meeting last week with the leaders of all the Gwent councils, along with my AM and MP colleagues to hear first-hand the pressures the council face and I can assure you their plight has not fallen on deaf ears.

The Welsh Government, despite its drastically decreased funding from the UK Government has protected local authorities in Wales from the bulk of cuts over the past five years: spending on local services in England has decreased by around seven per cent in cash terms, while in Wales it has increased by three per cent; no authority will see a year on year reduction of more than 4.5 per cent; an extra £10m is being provided to support social services and schools.

We are committed to supporting our local authorities who are at the frontline of our public services and we will continue to do all we can protect them.

My next surgery will be held on Friday, October 17 from 10am until 11am at Tredegar Library. Feel free to pop in for a chat about local issues.

If you are unable to make if, please contact me at my office 23 Beaufort Street, Brynmawr, on 01495 311160 to make an alternative appointment.

You can follow me on twitter @AlunDaviesAM, or keep up to date on my latest news on facebook.com/AMAlunDavies or my new website www.alundaviesam.org