Members of the public met with councillors and council officers this week to discuss ways to save £23 million from the public purse over the next four years.

The first of five 'public engagement' meetings taking place throughout October ahead of Monmouthshire County Council setting its budget in February was at Monmouth Compehensive School on Monday (14th October).

The public took part in focus groups to discuss public services, education and to voice various other concerns or queries.

A list of mandates where potential savings could be made to fund a gap of about £23m were published in a report by the council.

Chief executive Paul Matthews said: "It is incredibly important that we have this conversation, not just for the council but for Monmouthshire as a whole.

"Tonight, we want to share the dilemmas facing us, the public, employees and actors in the third sector, and we genuinely want to hear your voice."

Cllr Fox added: "We need to remember that the budget is a fair way off and normally we wouldn't come out to engage so early.

"However, the challenges have driven us to think hard about what the future looks like.

"We are faced with scary figures, we need to find savings of £23m over the next three to four years. We are going to have to make decisions that people won't like, but Monmouthshire is rich in social capital and has many ideas and ways of doing things differently.

"We have a duty as a council to leave legacies for Monmouthshire after we're gone."

Following a 20-minute discussion within individual focus groups, each table developed a question to ask Cllr Fox.

One area of concern was the potential cuts to leisure services across Monmouthshire.

A member of the public said leisure services reduced obesity, encouraged activity and promoted general health and wellbeing.

With all the benefits attached to leisure in Monmouthshire, it was questioned whether it would be prudent to make cuts to these services.

Cllr Fox said: "People are getting better within leisure services, but we need to look at how we can best use all our facilities.

"We need to look to see if we can deliver leisure services in various ways. Leisure services are not all based in leisure centres, some are based in town halls, church halls and so on.

"We recognise that leisure centres do a good job, however are they the right things moving forward?

"We need to find the most cost effective way to deliver sustainable services, this gives us more scope of how we can work with others."

Questions were also answered on refuge, the use of the Welsh language in Monmouthshire, enterprise, expanding the role of town councils and cutting down on paper work.

Mr Matthews said: "It is mid-October now, and the council will set their budget on the 28th February for the year 2014/15.

"Following this meeting, the leader and the cabinet have got plenty to focus on."

Future community engagement evenings will take place tonight (16th October) from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at Dewstow Primary School, Caldicot, 17th October from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at King Henry VIII School, Abergavenny, 22nd October from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at Chepstow Comprehensive School and 28th October from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at County Hall, Usk.