CASH strapped Inverclyde Council underspent its budget last year by almost £6 million.

The figure was revealed in a report to councillors – but no decision has yet been made on what to do with the surplus cash.

In the 12 months up to March this year, the local authority saved £5.8m, which works out at 3.4 per cent of the council’s £170m budget.

The majority of the underspend consisted of a £2.5m pot set aside for contingencies, such as inflation costs, but the sum was not needed.

The money will now go into the council’s free reserves, taking them up to £8.7m – £2.3m more than what officials anticipated when setting the budget five months ago.

In a report to councillors, chief financial officer Alan Puckrin said: “The council supported by the corporate management team take a robust approach to budget management by retaining underspends and bearing down on pressures.

“This generates overall budget underspends and has helped reduce saving requirements.

“Overall, the unaudited accounts position reflects a free reserves position of £8.783m which is an increase of £2.293m since the budget was set in March 2016.

“Committee has already agreed that any decision on the use of remaining free reserves will be deferred until the conclusion of the 2015/16 accounts in September 2016.”

The rest of the £5.8m was made up of ‘over recovery’ of council tax collections and underspends in areas such as early years education, utility bills and social care services due to lower than expected costs.

In the briefing, councillors are asked to note the ‘positive impact’ of a ‘robust approach’ to budget management by senior council officials.