Inverclyde Council is facing a yawning £20m black hole in the next three years

The chief finance officer Alan Puckrin gave the warning at a recent full council meeting as he delivered a bleak financial forecast.

It projects a £6.7m shortfall in 2020/21, £6.2m the following year and £6.2m in 2022/23.

In a joint statement with local authority leader Stephen McCabe, Mr Pucrkin stated that without improvements in the local government settlement given out by Holyrood, there will be difficult decisions to come to balance the budget.

The pair told elected members that a three year financial strategy is key to the future of the council.

Head of finance Mr Puckrin said: "The key messages are that unless there are improvements in the local government settlement compared to recent years, then the council faces some extremely difficult choices in order to balance the budget.

"The new fiscal framework within which Scotland now operates and the ongoing Brexit situation bring a further layer of uncertainty and therefore it is important that the council’s financial strategy provides a range of scenarios and that members plan accordingly."

Officials say the greatest threat to the district's future is depopulation.

After a few years of more people moving into Inverclyde than moving out, that trend has now reversed.

Accountants say that if depopulation continues at its current rate Inverclyde may be unable to continue on its own and could have to merge with a neighbouring area.

Councillor Colin Jackson raised concerns at the meeting that according to the Scottish Fiscal Commission figures, the Scottish Government income tax policy will mean a £630 million pound deficit.

He also highlighted that on top of this Scottish GDP has fallen.

After the meeting Cllr Jackson added: "The reduction of non-domestic rates and the Small Business Bonus scheme have all produced no economic benefit and Scotland's public finances are facing a one billion black hole.