Aberystwyth Town Council’s calls for fair funding for Welsh councils “that adequately reflect the unique challenges in rural, less densely populated areas,” have been discussed at the Senedd.

A Senedd cross-party committee called for greater transparency around the formula used to allocate funding to Welsh councils amid concerns about unfairness.

Mark Isherwood, who chairs the Senedd public accounts committee, raised a warning from Aberystwyth town council that the formula disproportionately disadvantages Ceredigion.

In a letter to the committee, Will Rowlands, the town council’s clerk, called for fair funding that “adequately reflects the unique challenges in rural, less densely populated areas.”

He wrote: “The formula, as it stands, has resulted in a significantly lower percentage of funding for our county, which is detrimental to the economic, cultural and educational wellbeing of our communities.”

Mr Rowlands raised concerns about a long-term risk of declining public services and infrastructure if the Welsh Government’s funding formula remains unchanged.

Mr Isherwood called for independent oversight, warning “turkeys don’t vote for Christmas”.

He said: “The winners are not going to want to sacrifice their position, metaphoric winners, I don’t mean they’re rolling in money but those who do better… to those that do less well.”

During a meeting on 6 November 6 Mr Isherwood explained that ministers maintain the formula is reviewed annually, with the input of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), the national voice of Wales’ 22 councils.

Labour’s Mike Hedges urged Welsh ministers to publish more detailed information, so people can judge the fairness of funding settlements.

He asked: “Why won’t the Welsh Government publish the standard spending assessments (SSAs) for each local authority and the calculations rather than just giving a final amount?

“No one can tell you whether this is right or wrong because all you’ve seen is the final numbers, you haven’t seen the calculations.”

Adam Price echoed calls for greater transparency to aid scrutiny and public discussion, suggesting Audit Wales or another independent body could look into the formula.

The Plaid Cymru leader said it is unreasonable to expect the WLGA to come to a unified view because councils will all have a different interpretation of the need for change.

Adrian Crompton, the auditor general, told the committee that Audit Wales plans to publish a report on financial sustainability of councils in the next month, but it “won’t examine the make-up of the SSA formula in any great detail.”