Many of you will know that schoolchildren in Monmouthshire will only qualify for a free bus pass if they live more than three miles from their secondary school or two miles if they are at primary school.
This rightly sparked anger and frustration by many in the community with 115 children losing out on free transport eligibility.
It is telling that a motion expressing regret over this decision was passed in the council receiving support from both Labour and Conservative councillors.
Under my leadership, and Conservative control, these distances were kept at two miles for secondary schools and one and a half miles for primary schools.
The fact is that alternatives would need to be put in place like safe walking routes, however this often ended up being more expensive. On balance, it was always better to use generous levels of transport.
I firmly believe that this is the wrong decision by the council and has been handled incredibly poorly, but stories like this will become ever more prevalent thanks to poor decision making by Labour politicians in both Cardiff Bay and Westminster.
For years, councils have been underfunded by Labour Ministers.
For too long, Labour Ministers have relied on the fact that councils will have to raise council tax to protect services to make up for these cuts.
Councils in England are unable to raise council tax above 5% without a local referendum, however they are not obliged to here in Wales.
The Welsh Conservatives want to change that.
If Labour Ministers know that councils cannot simply raise council tax to extortionate levels every year then they will not be as quick to continue to impose cuts against our local authorities.
Ultimately, this protects local authorities as well as hard working families across Wales.
UK Labour’s rise in national insurance is directly contributing to the squeeze on local authority budgets.
Thanks to this tax hike, public services were hit with a further £72 million shortfall, and only half of that has been made up by the Government in Cardiff Bay with the remainder having to come from cuts or council tax rises.
Clearly, this is just more of the same of Labour expecting Local Authorities to pick up the pieces from their poor policy decision making.
As an ex-council leader myself, I know the challenges that Local Authorities face and the difficult choices required, but decision making must prioritise residents’ best interests.
Peter Fox MS - Monmouth
