SNP councillors in Inverclyde have today been challenged to come up with ways to pay for services and centres they want spared from looming council budget cuts.

Local authority leader Stephen McCabe has thrown down the gauntlet to opposition leader Chris McEleny to find ways to fund his party’s wish-list in the face of a huge estimated £8 million funding gap over the next two years.

Mr McEleny declared last week that he and his colleagues would not support cuts to the likes of CCTV funding, community wardens, music teaching, under-19 sports team subsidies and the local Youth Connections centres.

The Gourock councillor also wants protection for Gourock and Port Glasgow swimming pools, Lady Octavia Sports Centre, Paton Street Community Centre, Greenock South West Library and the Port Customer Service Centre in the budget, on top of his party’s key priority of extending free school meals for primary school children.

But Labour’s Mr McCabe says the council has to cut its cloth somehow and has encouraged Mr McEleny to reveal where the axe should fall.

Councillor McCabe said: “I am disappointed, although not surprised, that the SNP group has decided not to wait until they read the responses to the council’s public consultation before revealing their budget priorities.

“However, given that they have gone public with the savings they oppose, they should now make public the list of cuts they support.

“No amount of spin from the SNP group leader can hide the fact that the council will have to make millions of pounds of cuts as a result of our funding settlement from the Scottish Government.”

Mr McCabe says the administration will allow the public to have their say first before making any decisions on the possible reductions to jobs and services which have been tabled by officials.

He said: “The Labour group will wait until we see the responses to the consultation before entering into an honest and frank discussion with the other groups on the council as to how we agree a budget that has the least damaging impact on our community.

“I have sympathy with the SNP group’s aspirations to extend universal free school meals.

“I would like to know, however, what other services they intend to cut to pay for this policy.”