LOCAL authority leader Stephen McCabe has spoken of his dismay at the budget elected members had to set with council tax going up by 5.3 per cent and cuts being made.

Councillor McCabe said Inverclyde had received 'a very poor financial settlement from the Scottish Government'.

He said: “Despite pleas from all levels of government, including from our own elected members, chief financial officers, and trade unions, our collective concerns about the lack of funding and necessity for a fair settlement have not been heard.

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“To put it into context, our council tax level is not the highest increase in the country – it’s around the average – and represents an annual rise of one per cent during my 16 years as a council leader.

"But this is also the biggest single increase in that time."