THE leader of the council has admitted he is 'disappointed' that Inverclyde's new economic task force does not have a Scottish Government minister sitting on it.

The first meeting of the group - set up to revitalise and secure new funding for the district - took place earlier this week, with representatives from the Scottish and UK governments attending.

It had been hoped that a Scottish Government minister would be able to join the task force as a full member, but the council have been unable to bring a Holyrood cabinet member to the table.

Ivan McKee, the minister for business, trade, tourism and enterprise, attended the task force's first meeting, however the SNP politician will not be an official member of the group.

The new body will be chaired jointly by council leader Stephen McCabe and local MSP Stuart McMillan and meet on a quarterly basis.

Councillor McCabe told the Tele that he felt the first meeting had gone well despite a Scottish Government minister not being secured to sit permanently on the task force.

Those who were in attendance were given a sobering briefing by the Fraser of Allander Institute which highlights that Inverclyde could be the 'most left behind local authority' in the whole of the UK.

Mr McCabe said: "We were told about the findings of a recent report from the Fraser of Allander Institute on Inverclyde and some of our neighbouring authorities.

"The findings make difficult reading but also they show that with all of the partners working towards the same goals we can make a real and lasting difference to the lives of residents and the future prosperity of our area.

"Stuart McMillan has also agreed to join as co-chair and I'm pleased to be working with him.

"He will chair the next meeting, to send a clear message that this group isn’t about politics.

"It is about action and getting Inverclyde a better deal.

"The aim of the task force is to get more support for Inverclyde, so that will be the litmus test of its success.

"The Scottish Government felt that it would not be appropriate to have a minister as a member of the task force, but Ivan McKee did attend the meeting.

"There was disappointment, given that this group came from a meeting with the finance secretary.

"Our expectation had been that it would be a joint task force, but we respect the Scottish Government's decision.

"The presence of a minister would lend a certain weight to the task force and I am hopeful that Ivan attends regularly.

"While I was disappointed, I felt it was a very positive first meeting and I am hopeful that as we continue to meet we can work towards getting the right outcomes for Inverclyde."

Mr McCabe says there is a 'clear need for Inverclyde to achieve special case status to secure much-needed funding and priority' from Holyrood and Westminster.

He added: "The task force provides us with the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with both the Scottish and UK governments and a range of partners to bring long term success to Inverclyde and once and for all address the socio-economic issues affecting our area."