Other authorities have cut officers and services rather than raise council tax, meaning they now have a shortage of officers to deliver core services, such as planning or social healthcare, and technical highway officers to apply for Welsh Government grant funding for active travel. More pressure is put on councils now due to the way replacement EU funding bids have to be made by local authorities, which is another issue.

Reserves cannot be used for ongoing revenue funding, because, once they are gone, that is it, and, as Mike earlier said, part of the reserves are the schools' budgets. It's vital some reserves are held should there be storm damage to council-maintained infrastructure. We've seen in recent years landslides and subsidence causing major damage from monsoon-like rainfall. Heavy snowfall means costly, prolonged gritting. School transport has increased by 40 per cent, and is very volatile. And if an operator goes out of business, the price rises significantly, as competition reduces. And if a family moves to the area in-year with significant caring needs, it can cost a local authority hundreds of thousands of pounds. That's why they need these reserves, especially the larger authorities.

I've previously asked the Minister and I've previously asked at the Local Government and Housing Committee for the funding formula to be reviewed, and the response was that it would be. One area that perhaps needs reviewing is funding for social services, based on the average age of a population. Conwy, for instance, has the highest level of over-80s in Wales. There have been calls for per capita funding, but then those in more rural areas would lose out significantly; it's a careful balance. Councils are often our biggest employers, even despite the reduced workforce, delivering vital public services that our communities and our economy rely on. They educate, provide planning, housing, transport and all the support services that take pressure off our NHS. They've been undervalued by the Tories, and there needs to be a change of UK Government, with a Treasury that respects and values what our councils do. Thank you.