COUNCIL tax in Inverclyde will rise by nearly two per cent and food waste uplifts will be cut along with road repairs as the local authority plugs a £6m budget black hole.

Five of the six political groups represented in the Municipal Buildings have signed up to the proposals ahead of a meeting next week to set the revenue budget and council tax charges for 2022/23.

The agreement will see the council bridge the gap by making nearly £2m of savings and 'budget adjustments', as well as using £4m from its reserves.

Council tax will go up by 1.95 per cent, less than had been expected.

This would increase Band D council tax by £25.97 per year, taking it to £1,357.81.

If the proposals are given the go-ahead, household food waste green bin collections will be changed from weekly to fortnightly.

The council's road revenue patching budget will also be cut back by £75,000 over the next financial year.

In other cuts, Kilmacolm Nursery will change from full-time to term time and have its capacity reduced and the council's biannual In View newspaper will be axed.

But there will also be a capital investment package totalling £62 million over the next three years.

Labour council leader Stephen McCabe said he was pleased that the majority of the council groups had been able to reach a 'compromise' agreement.

He told the Tele: "As an administration we like to achieve consensus where we can with other groups.

"Unfortunately agreement could not be reached with the Alba group due to their insistence on a council tax freeze.

"In our proposals we have tried to strike a balance between cuts to services and jobs, increases in charges for services and a rise in council tax.

"Without the use of £4 million of reserves these would have been significantly greater."

Mr McCabe says he expects the proposed council tax rise of 1.95 per cent to be at 'the lower end of the range of increases across Scotland'.

He added: "While those who pay full council tax will face a small increase in their charge, over 32,000 or 81 per cent of households in Inverclyde will actually pay less than they did in the current financial year due to the Scottish Government’s £150 rebate scheme.

"For those in the higher banded properties that don’t qualify for the rebate, weekly increases will range from 66p to £1.22.

"In addition for the 10,000 households that are either in receipt of council tax reduction or exempt from council tax, and therefore aren’t affected by the increase, the budget agreement makes provision for a one-off payment of £300 to each of these households at a cost of £3m to the council.

"Most of these households will also receive the Scottish Government payment of £150, meaning that in total they will receive support of £450 to help them will the rising cost of fuel bills and other household essentials.

"The total support for households in Inverclyde from these two measures is around £8m, with £5m funded by the Scottish Government and £3m by the council.”