A LOCAL councillor has expressed disappointment at the projected overspend for Inverclyde Council's 2023/24 education revenue budget.

David Wilson of the Conservatives spoke out about the financial situation at a meeting of the council's education and communities committee. 

Council officials revealed the current budget has been set at £102.51m, with a projected overspend of £713,000. 

Documents issued at the meeting outlined that employee costs, cleaning and catering, school transport, and additional support needs placements were some of the factors contributing to the overspend. 

Councillor Wilson said: "I really do think the overspend is disappointing. 

"The money we're spending is well above the Scottish average.

"We are spending record amounts of money on education in Inverclyde. 

"Our average spend per nursery pupil is £11,000.

"There should be enough there in the budget to cover these costs."

Cllr Wilson says the rising cost of school transport across the west of Scotland will be contributing to the projected overspend. 

He claimed transport costs have gone from £27m to £44m in a year. 

He added: "Everything is going up dramatically."