SERVICE cuts are a "very real possibility" for Monmouthshire council according to its cabinet member for finance following last week's announcement that the local authority will have to make the most savings of all Gwent councils with 4.3 per cent of budget cuts in the next year.

The Welsh Government announced the extent of budget cuts for 2015/16 last Wednesday, with local authorities receiving 3.4 per cent less on average from the previous year.

But Monmouthshire will have to find an extra £4.3 million for next year's budget.

Cllr Phil Murphy, cabinet member for finance, said they had taken into account for four per cent cuts into their projections but would have to find another £300,000.

He said: "We had identified for four per cent cuts but we still needed to find the money. It is very much an active work in progress.

"It's a very real possibility (to cut services), we are not in the position to say what if any services are going to be cut. Every time we work out a way of doing something differently another becomes apparent and we can't keep relying on innovative ways to make savings as it gets to the stage when we run out of steam."

The leader of Monmouthshire council, Cllr Peter Fox, has said that further cuts of this scale could run the risk of 'comprehensible failure' across public services.

He said: "The idea that a distant local government reorganisation, which at a minimum is three financial years away and will costing millions to implement, offers any salvation from these problems really does strain credibility.”

Cllr Fox previously said the cuts meant the council will need to find savings over the next three years of around £27 million. He said: "This presents almost incomprehensible challenges."

People in the county also spoke about their concern over the cuts.

Ken Bloomfield, 59, the senior instructor of Chepstow Tae Kwando Academy which operates out of Chepstow Leisure Centre, said the decrease in the council's budget creates a real threat to leisure services in the county.

He said: "I would really loathe any sign of cuts to the leisure industry particularly in fitness as it has a knock on effects in terms of people’s health. Leisure centres are under threat of being cut and constantly have to justify their existence.

"The fees have gone up dramatically in the last few years. If the fees increase again I will definitely have to increase my prices, in particular, the special needs class as at the moment it breaks even but I wouldn't be able to run it on the same price if the fees go up."

Meanwhile the first round of public consultations on the council's shrinking public service budget finished last week and the council hope to make the second round of consultations in December/January.

The council said it is hopeful more people will engage with its consultation exercises after it emerged fewer people took part in this year’s events than in 2013.

The first round of consultations were completed at Chepstow leisure centre on Thursday evening and attended by about 50 people, the day before the Welsh Government announced the scale of budget cuts.

Chepstow resident Kim Jarvis, who attended the meeting, said: “While it’s great to engage people locally it’s mostly a displacement activity. I want Monmouthshire council to push back at the Welsh Assembly government and at Westminster - stop sharing the blame around and start thinking of a national solution to what is a national problem.

“As an evening the engagement thing is an encouraging idea - they need to get it out to more people. The people we're arguing about tonight are the people who will need the services.”