West Dunbartonshire Council’s leader has labelled Scottish Government funding for the area “destructive and unethical.”
However, Labour’s administration has come under fire from opponents for a lack of consultation with the public on the brutal cuts facing local authority services.
SNP group leader Karen Conaghan said: “As part of the previous administration I know setting a balanced budget is not easy.
“Times have got even harder, and the UK Government has decided that we will all pay for the financial support provided during the Covid pandemic.
“Those who are least able to pay are those who are suffering most from this political choice. Council officers, year-on-year, have provided suggested savings that are increasingly unpalatable and many residents are, rightly, extremely concerned at many of those options.
“The Labour administration made many promises in May last year about putting extra money in residents pockets, but not only are they now not making good on these promises, they will oversee job losses and bring down swingeing cuts on services which we all rely on here in West Dunbartonshire.
“This is on top of over £4 million of cuts which they gave our towns as a Christmas gift at the December 22 Council meeting, and all of this with no public consultation.”
Labour leader Martin Rooney hit back, laying the blame at Holyrood.
He said: “There is no escaping the fact that extremely difficult choices will have to be made in order to balance the budget next month.
“Reducing council services is not something I or any member of local government want, but we can only work within the confines of the budgets available.
“It is a simple fact that without more funding, we are being forced into making these decisions which will have a detrimental and long-lasting impact on our communities.
“Our council is at crisis point and the Scottish Government has made a conscious choice to take money out of West Dunbartonshire, while giving Holyrood MSPs the power to decide on the area’s priorities over local councillors living in our communities.
“The funding we have received is unethical and will undoubtedly be destructive to West Dunbartonshire.”
Speaking as SNP leadership hopeful Humza Yousaf launched his campaign in Clydebank, MSP Jackie Baillie said:“The £21million underfunding of West Dunbartonshire Council is a cut directly imposed by the SNP government on the people of West Dunbartonshire.
“No-one wants to see frontline services at risk and jobs being lost during a cost of living crisis but this is the very real situation being faced by councils today.
“It is a slap in the face that Humza Yousaf would come to West Dunbartonshire to launch his leadership campaign which could see him become First Minister when he and the SNP have presided over the council facing £21million of cuts to close the budget gap.
"He has run the NHS into the ground during his period as the worst Health Secretary since devolution. Now he wants to run the country. It is just astonishing.
“If he really wants to be leader, will he give a commitment today to stop the cuts in West Dunbartonshire?”
Whilst he Community Party’s Jim Bollan challenged the local authority to set a budget according to the needs of locals.
The Leven member said: "These savage deep cuts in Services, resulting in a minimum of 250 job losses, need to be fought and resisted.
"The Community Party calls again for the Labour Council to refuse to implement Tory cuts and set a 'needs' based budget to deliver services our communities require and deserve.
"Enough is Enough.
"It is time to confront a law that requires Council's to decimate services and slash jobs, which will affect the poorest and most vulnerable in our Communities."
