CONSERVATIVE politicians are calling for the Welsh Government to do more to stop Anglesey school closures.

Shadow Ministers have presented a two-sided attack over the closure of rural schools on the island.

Assembly Members Suzy Davies and Mark Isherwood say the Welsh Labour-led Government should support the people of Anglesey and prevent the closure of Ysgol Gymuned Bodffordd.

Campaigners are fighting to keep the village school open. Along with nearby Ysgol Corn Hir, it was earmarked for closure last year, weeks before the Welsh Government’s School Organisation Code was put in place.

Shadow Minister for Education, Suzy Davies AM, said:

“I spoke out more than five months ago welcoming the School Organisation Code, which despite coming on the back of two decades of rural school closures, seemed to be set to protect more from falling to the same fate.

“Despite the code, this sad news proves that rural schools aren’t safe under this Welsh Labour-led Government after all.

“Residents of North Wales have been neglected by the Welsh Government since the country devolved 20 years ago, and closures like this will have a lasting impact on the region’s heritage."

Mrs Davies cited the loss of Welsh language as a consequence of school closures and highlighted Anglesey's sharp rise in Council Tax.

The AM said: “While the Welsh Government claims to want to see one million Welsh speakers in this country by 2050, the closure of a school in which 89% of pupils speak Welsh is yet another setback for the Welsh Government’s increasingly unreachable target.”

Anglesey fell foul at the end of last year of Welsh Government budget cuts, making it one of the worst-off areas in the country.

"As a result, the region underwent one of the greatest council tax hikes in subsequent March changes."

Statistics showed that one of the highest council tax rises for the upcoming financial year in Anglesey at a 9.1% jump.

"Given that the local government funding formula is heavily influenced by deprivation indicators, confusion surrounds the locations of the largest increases in Wales. Prosperity levels per head (GVA) in Anglesey are just under half those in of Cardiff, yet the Welsh Government’s Final Local Government Settlement for 2019-20 gave Cardiff a 0.9% increase, whilst the councils with the largest cuts of -0.3% include Anglesey - which is now facing one of the highest hikes in council tax."

Mark Isherwood AM added: “It’s time the Welsh Government stood up for the people of North Wales, and ended this cycle of repeated deprivation of funding for certain areas.

“Councils are being forced to find savings where they can, and unfortunately education is repeatedly bearing the brunt of these measures.

“Not only this, but we read that the cost of repairing worn roads in Wrexham could amount to £50million. If cash-strapped councils are forced to continue like this, North Wales could soon face a funding crisis with serious consequences.

“Currently, for every £1 per head spent by the UK Conservative Government in England on matters devolved to Wales, £1.20 is given to the Welsh Government, and it is the Welsh Government which then decides how it 'slices the cake'.

“Nine out of 22 Welsh local authorities receive an increase under the Welsh Government’s settlement for 2019-20.

"However, with the exception of Denbighshire, which receives a flat settlement, all North Wales councils are to receive a cut, with the largest cuts in Anglesey, Conwy and Flintshire, alongside Monmouthshire and Powys in south and mid- Wales.

"The Welsh Government must therefore address the impact of its disproportionate budget cuts across parts of the country caused by its obsolete local government funding formula.”