BLAENAU Gwent AM, Alun Davies said the Labour council is "facing up to the challenges" as it announced it needed to make £10million worth of cuts.

The Valleys council will be forced to find total savings of £10 million for the 2014/2015 financial year.

The Labour AM said: “Over the last year our council has taken hard and tough decisions. The council has been facing up to the challenges and not running away from them. They have started to turn the corner on education, they have addressed the short-comings in the management of the authority and now they are addressing the very real consequences of the failed Tory policy of austerity.

“The Welsh Government has worked with local government leaders from across Wales to protect us from the worst of the Tory cuts policy but it is inevitable that we will feel the impact of Osbourne’s squeeze on economic growth and public spending.

“I will be working hard with the council to ensure that we continue to protect core services and to secure jobs in the borough. I know that the council leaders are committed to making decisions on spending that will continue to protect the most vulnerable people and to invest in schools and social services.

“It is telling that all opposition councillors voted to support the Labour leadership on these issues. I will also be supporting the leadership of the council in taking these hard decisions and ensuring that we protect core services for the future.”