NEW MP Jane Dodds has come under fire from political opponents after raising concerns over education funding in Powys.

The Liberal Democrat, who won last week’s Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, has said she wants an urgent meeting with the leader of Powys council, Councillor Rosemarie Harris, and chief executive Caroline Turner.

But Conservative opponents have said as overall responsibility for education in Wales rests with Ms Dodd’s party colleague, and fellow representative for Brecon and Radnorshire, Kirsty Williams that is where the MP should be directing her complaints.

Lib Dem Ms Williams accepted the position of education minister, in the Welsh Labour Government, in 2016.

Ms Dodds said she wants to discuss with the council why under its funding formula schools will not receive additional cash for extra pupils they are taking in.

Ms Dodds said: "It came up on the doorstep during the recent by-election and is clearly an issue that needs to be urgently addressed.”

But Ms Dodds’ comments have provoked a response from political opponents who’ve suggested the new MP should be directing her concerns at Kirsty Williams.

Welsh Conservative AM Andrew RT Davies was so incensed he tweeted his frustrations over five hours. First he complained that a BBC News report hadn’t mentioned that Ms Williams is the education minister and shared the story, adding in the new MP’s and Ms Williams’ Twitter handles.

Mr Davies tweeted: "@DoddsJane let me introduce you to @Kirsty_Williams! Only the Lib Dems would try and disown the fact they’re responsible for running education in Wales! Never mind the fact they’re propping up a Labour Government that has consistently cut funding for rural local authorities."

Two hours later and Mr Davies still couldn’t put his phone down and tweeted Ms Dodds again to say she should tell Ms Williams to resign from the government.

He shared a tweet from Ms Dodds and wrote: "Your very own constituency AM - a member of your own party - is responsible for running education and schools in Wales. If you really believe what you’re tweeting then you should tell @Kirsty_Williams to stop propping up the Welsh Labour Party and resign from the @WelshGovernment".

Conservative councillor Iain McIntosh, who represents Yscir on Powys council, also complained that Ms Dodds should direct her anger at the Welsh Government.

The councillor, who is part of a council group that is examining the funding formula the Welsh Government uses to distribute cash to local authorities, has asked if Ms Dodds would support calls for more money for the council.

He also claimed the current formula favours Labour led and urban councils.

Cllrr McIntosh said: "I’m delighted to see our new MP taking an interest in education in Powys only five days into her new role, but I’m not sure if she realises that education is devolved here, so I’ve asked her for clarification about that and, whether or not she’ll also join the fight for better funding from the Welsh Government here in Powys."

Writing on his Facebook page the councillor addressed Ms Dodds: "First of all education is devolved to the Welsh Government here in Wales and Kirsty Williams is the Education Minister. I’m glad you’ve taken an interest in the important issue about how education is funded, but I think it’s your colleague who is in charge of this matter and should therefore be addressing this in Wales?

"When it comes to funding, Powys County Council has been at the bottom of the Welsh Government’s funding list for at least 15 years, due to a funding formula that favours Welsh Labour led and urban councils.

"I recently set up a working group within the council to try and identify why the current funding formula constantly lets down the residents of Powys and I’d be delighted if you would help by joining us to take our findings and concerns back to the Senedd once our work is complete? "

The Welsh Government has previously said the funding formula for local government is agreed with the Welsh Local Government Association. Previous local government minister Alun Davies said he would be willing to consider changes to the formula if they were jointly proposed by local councils. A fall in pupil numbers in Powys has impacted on the council’s funding allocation though the authority also says its struggles with the cost of delivering services across a vast rural area.

Ms Williams has previously said she introduced the funding floor to the Welsh local government settlement that means no council’s funding allocation is cut beyond a minimum level, usually 1%.

The row highlights the possible tension of Ms Dodds highlighting concerns over public services, especially education, most of which are the responsibility of the Welsh Government of which Ms Williams is a key part. The Welsh Government has consistently complained that its overall budget has been reduced due to the austerity policies of the Conservative government in Westminster.