THERE is no cash to splash on the reintroduction of free swimming for older people in Inverclyde.

Council leader Stephen McCabe says he’s happy to listen to suggestions about how to pay for the perk for over-60s - but warned that more savings have to be made next year.

His comments come after members of the SNP group performed a pool u-turn and said they and their colleagues ‘got it wrong’ when they pulled the plug on the policy.

It fell victim to £3m worth of budget cuts made earlier this year but the decision has been met with fierce criticism.

Yesterday, the Tele revealed how SNP group chief Chris McEleny wants the policy reinstated after being inundated by complaints from constituents.

Labour councillor Mr McCabe says he is happy to listen to ideas from his counterpart but warned that the well has run dry when it comes to funding.

The council leader said: “It is honest of the SNP group to admit they made a mistake by including this proposal in their budget.

“I happen to think they made quite a few mistakes in that budget.

“The council’s cross-party members’ budget working group will start to meet again on June 11 and the SNP group will be free to raise this issue then.

“I will of course remind SNP councillors and others that we still face a huge budget gap for the next financial year which will require many more difficult savings to be made.

“I’ll also suggest to the group that they seek a meeting with their colleague Derek Mackay MSP, the cabinet secretary for finance, to press for a much better financial settlement for Inverclyde next year so that we can avoid more cuts and indeed reverse some of those we have been forced to make this year, including free swimming for over-60s.”

The end of the policy will save the council around £62,000 a year.

The SNP group have floated a number of ideas to try and reintroduce it, including reimbursing leisure chiefs per swim instead of handing over a flat fee each year.