Powys saw its revenue support increased by 1.5 per cent, considerably lower than the Wales average and well below the rate of inflation. P

CC has £4 million deposited with the collapsed Icelandic institutions. I understand the Welsh Local Government Association is actively working on behalf of the affected local authorities to ensure the Welsh dimension of this financial crisis is fully understood by the Treasury.

The WLGA is seeking full compensation for authorities in the event that some or all of the Icelandic investments are lost.

It is clear that, should some or all of these investments be lost and the Treasury does not provide full compensation, then they will be looking to the Assembly Government to make good the losses.

In a letter to me dated October 30, the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, Brian Gibbons, said the Labour Government in Westminster had ruled out compensation for "wholesale" institutional investors such as local authorities.

There is a possibility the Assembly Government will be called upon to compensate the local authorities affected.

Although there is no threat to increase council tax or to cut services in the short term, the loss of this investment income will inevitably impact on council budgets long term.

It is vital the guidelines issued to local authorities in relation to investment advice in Icelandic banks should be published.

This is particularly important in view of reports that Gordon Brown was allegedly told in April by his Icelandic counterpart that their financial sector had serious problems. The Assembly Government must come clean on this issue so people can see the extent to which local authorities were acting on Government guidelines.

With Wales still reeling from the effects of the Post Office closure programme, comes news of yet another threat to the network.

The contract for providing the post office card account service is being put out to competitive tender in line with European Union rules. Postmasters in Wales have estimated a further 200 post offices could close if the contract is lost by the Post Office.

Many branches in Wales rely on this business and a further wave of branch closures due to the loss of this contract is totally unacceptable. The Assembly Government must intervene and make clear to the Labour Government in Westminster that communities in Wales will not tolerate any further rundown of the network.

Labour must support our branch network by awarding the contract to Post Office Limited and also return the Government services, such as pensions and benefits, road tax licences and TV Licences, to our post offices at the earliest opportunity.