ALMOST 50 jobs will go, funding for services will be slashed and charges will increase after the council agreed its budget last night.

Around £3m worth of cuts were unveiled under the package agreed by the Labour administration and backed by the independent councillors, two Tories and sole LibDem.

In front of a packed chamber council leader Stephen McCabe revealed how 47 full-time posts will go, car parking charges will double, burial and cremation costs will rise and free swimming for the over-60s will end.

The cuts come on top of a three per cent council tax rise agreed earlier.

At the most important budget meeting for years councillors were surrounded by anxious members of the public and employees from under-threat services.

The council budget has now been reduced by £53m since 2009 and in eight years 611 jobs have disappeared.

Yet the worst case scenario was avoided, as many services were saved and more jobs protected.

There was also news that there would be £6m of investment to fight poverty and boost local infrastructure.

Councillor McCabe said: “There are a number of positive proposals in our budget but for me they are overshadowed by the cuts we have to make.

“Unfortunately the real terms cut in our funding from the Scottish Government and the ongoing cap on council tax rises leaves us with no other option.

“A priority for the administration and those supporting our proposals has been to minimise the number of posts that will be lost.”

Mr McCabe says it’s hoped the reduction will be achieved through deleting vacant posts, voluntary severance and redeployment. 

The budget will see a £159,000 cut in regeneration funding for Riverside Inverclyde while Inverclyde Leisure will suffer a £102,000 cut which will be passed on to customers.

All day parking charges go up from £1 to £2, commercial waste charges rise, kerbside glass collection will cease and a charge will be introduced for community alarms for OAPs.

Municipal Whinhill Golf Club will have to make cuts and generate more income to save £20,000.

The Care and Repair service to help the elderly will now be brought in-house along with grants for adaptations.

In a bid to save £1.5m there will be an additional support needs review, mental health redesign and £139,000 cut from learning disability services, as well as a  management restructure which is designed to save £675,000 by 2021.

But there was good news for a number of services, with Youth Connections and other community halls, the museum, South West Library and the under-19s sports subsidy all saved.

Newly elected Labour councillor Natasha Murphy stressed that the decisions had not been taken lightly.

She added: “These are vital cuts to vital services.”

SNP members had put an alternative budget on the table but one by one the other elected members turned their fire on the nationalists, accusing them of walking out on the all-party budget working group.

Labour’s Colin Jackson attacked SNP group leader Chris McEleny over his proposals, saying they would fail to protect frontline jobs.

He added: “You say you are a trade unionist but you have not listened to the trade unions.

“Your proposals would cut the jobs of street cleaners and school cleaners.”

Port councillor Drew McKenzie told Mr McEleny: “There was a lot in your budget that could have been supported if you had worked with us.”