MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council has received the second lowest Welsh Government settlement in Wales with a cut of one percent - the joint largest in the country.

Reacting on social media to the news, council chief executive Paul Matthews said, “Here is straightforward budget summary for 18/19. Last year we had the worst settlement in Wales by a mile and it has been cut by a further one percent. The gap between our funding and the Welsh average is now £338 per head.”

Warning that there were tough times ahead for the county, Mr Matthews added, “Ignore any nonsense language about protection for certain things. A real terms 3.7 per cent cut means less money for everything in Monmouthshire.”

Monmouthshire’s settlement includes £238,000 of ‘top up funding’ to ensure its budget does not fall by more than one per cent.

Councillor Peter Fox, leader of the Tory controlled council said the cuts were “disappointing”.

“The Welsh Government has chosen to use additional money passed to it by the UK Government in ways that don’t best meet the needs of the people in Wales,” said Councillor Fox.

“There seems to be absolutely no understanding in Cardiff Bay of what it takes to deliver public services in rural areas where the cost of living is higher than in urban areas.

“This antiquated funding formula needs to be scrapped and we need to find a fairer, more balanced way of meeting the needs of citizens living in our rural heartlands.

“If we don’t, we will just see the countryside de-populated,” he warned.

Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil, along with Powys and Conwy, also saw a one per cent drop in funding with Cardiff the only council in Wales to see an increase, with its settlement increasing by 0.2 per cent.

Welsh finance minister Mark Drakeford said the settlement was ‘realistic’ in light of Treasury cuts to the overall Welsh budge and told councils to look at their reserves and consider other sources of income including council tax and service charges.

Welsh Local Government Association leader Debbie Wilcox however said councils could not keep making the "harshest" of cuts while maintaining service levels.