Welsh Labour members of Powys County Council say public services, education and jobs and training will be among their top priorities as they decide on whether to offer their support to the council's budget plans for the coming year.

The ruling Conservative and Independent-run group on the council is due to set out it's 2019/20 budget later this month, and the Labour group, which holds 7 seats on the council, have outlined a series of tests they say they will use to judge the County Council’s proposals.

A statement from the Powys Labour group said: "Welsh Labour Councillors say the Council’s ruling coalition must deliver on the priorities of their budget tests if they are to win Labour’s support.

"Welsh Labour’s budget tests are:

1. Reform public services to meet the challenges of the future whilst repairing the Council’s reputation and maximising the disposal of capital assets to drive transformational change;

2. Reversing cuts to front line education spending in our local schools - giving our children the best start in life;

3. Promoting regeneration, jobs and training to help tackle poverty and create community wealth;

4. Deliver quality services for our vulnerable citizens that keep children safe and provide dignity and security for older residents and people with disabilities;

5. Work with partners to develop new local housing opportunities and improve community safety;

6. Support active citizens in greener, more prosperous and better connected communities."

In December, the County Council's head of finance Aled Davies warned that council tax payers in Powys are facing a double digit council tax increase as the authority battles to plug a £14m hole in it's budget for the coming year.

"We know that following the cut in Welsh Government support and increasing service pressures, particularly in social care, we are facing a budget gap of around £14m for 2019/2020 and a further £20m in the three following financial years," he said.

Labour Leader, Cllr Matthew Dorrance, said the Labour tests reflected their values and principles.

"Our budget tests are a carefully thought out set of priorities that we believe the Council must meet before we support any proposals they bring forward," he said.

"For too long the Council has failed to plan and residents are paying the price of that failure. Our tests clearly set out an opportunity for the Council to make full use of its assets while building in protection for essential front line services.

"Our tests reflect our values and our principles and we will be discussing them with Councillors from all sides in the weeks ahead."