YOU would have thought that leading SNP activist Carol Ann Tracey might have spoken with one of the eight SNP councillors (seven if you exclude Innes Nelson) before putting pen to paper (‘Council tax ‘stunt’ has been costly’, Tele Postbag, April 19).

She asks when the people of Inverclyde are going to receive their rebate. If she had checked with her ward councillor Pam Armstrong, she would know the rebate or credit will be processed next month once the Scottish Government has finally confirmed the amount of money being given to Inverclyde.

Carol Ann says she is unhappy that the rebate is going to be paid in financial year 2024/25. Again, if she had checked with Pam or one of the other SNP councillors, she would have known that the rebate is for 2024/25 in the same way that other councils are implementing a council tax freeze in 2024/25.

Carol Ann then claims that HER money will be sitting in council coffers when it could have been sitting in hers helping her to deal with her cost-of-living crisis.

Again, if she had checked with an SNP councillor, she would have known that the council will receive the £2.9m of funding from the Scottish Government in monthly instalments, so it won’t be sitting in the council coffers.

It could also have been explained to her that she won’t be receiving her share of the £2.9m as a payment into her bank account. The rebate will be used to reduce the monthly amount that she would have been required to pay to the council by 8.2 per cent.

Finally, Carol Ann criticises me and my Labour and independent colleagues for a 'stunt' over council tax, saying that processing the rebate will cost up to £18,000.

Well that little stunt, as she calls it, forced the Scottish Government to produce an extra £63m for councils with Inverclyde’s share being £1m.

Spending £18,000 to get £1m is a reasonably good return on investment.

However, if Carol Ann is genuinely interested in protecting council services, as she implied, she wouldn’t have supported the council tax freeze.

Over the next two years it will deprive council services like social care and education of £5.8m of funding.

The Integrated Joint Board for health and social care has just approved £5.2m of cuts over the same period.

Saving herself a few pounds a week might be Carol Ann’s priority: it is not mine.

Councillor Stephen McCabe

Elected Member Inverclyde East (Ward 1)

Municipal Buildings 

Greenock