INVERCLYDE Council’s borrowing is falling while more than half of Scotland’s councils have increased theirs, a new report reveals.

The local authority’s figure dropped from £0.29 billion to £0.22 billion over the decade ending 2013/14. The information is revealed in a report by financial watchdog Audit Scotland, which said 17 councils out of 32 increased their borrowing levels over the last 10 years. Municipal Buildings bosses say borrowing is used to deliver major investments in services based on the priorities the council has set out.

A council spokesman told the Telegraph: “In recent years the enormous investment in schools, leisure facilities and roads are examples where borrowing has helped deliver investment which would not otherwise be available.

“The council has fully allowed for the repayment costs of borrowing within its approved budgets.” Explaining the decrease, they said: “The council’s housing stock transfer will have made an impact on debt levels highlighted in this report from Audit Scotland.” The watchdog’s spokesperson said they don’t comment on specific councils in national reports.

But the most recent Audit Scotland individual report on Inverclyde Council, for the year ending 31 March last year, stated that the council is in good financial health with a strong general fund position.

The report said: “The general fund now stands at £42.9 million, a decrease in funds from the previous year of £2.4m. Overall, the council performs well in delivering services and has good financial management arrangements in place.

“In particular, the council has been able to build up significant reserves during a period of financial austerity. This has been achieved through disciplined financial management and strong leadership by the senior management team in delivering the council’s vision and corporate priorities to focus investment and savings decisions.” The report added, however, that, as more efficiencies and savings are identified, fewer remain in future years to be exploited — and councillors will have difficult decisions to make on service delivery as efficiency savings alone fall short of meeting the budget gap.