The leader of West Dunbartonshire Council has accused the Scottish Government of cutting their budget by more than £250,000 despite there being a £21million hole in finances.

In a scathing attack, Councillor Martin Rooney slammed the SNP's Holyrood administration for its "failure to face up to the financial challenges" and said the local authority budget had been cut by £272,000 instead of the £18m injection of additional funds needed.

Cllr Rooney also had a pop at the former SNP council administration, branding them as "too timid" to make the tough decisions needed to help the budget problems and leaving his Labour team - which won a majority at last May's local council elections - a £13.8m shortfall in the accounts.

He said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable that the Scottish Government will see an increase of 6.2 per cent in its budget, it is raising additional income tax, and has already had extra resources from the UK Government to help with the cost of living crisis but has still taken the indefensible decision to cut funding to the people who live in West Dunbartonshire.

"I want to know what they have done with our missing millions.

“As over 80 per cent of our funding comes directly from the Scottish Government this will have a significant detrimental impact on local services and jobs."

However, the Scottish Government defended its record of giving money to local authorities across the country, instead choosing to say council allocation had recently increased.

A spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role councils and their employees play in our communities across Scotland and the challenging financial circumstances they face.

“The 2023-24 Local Government Settlement provides more than £13.2 billion for councils. This represents a cash increase of more than £570m or 4.5 per cent, which is a real terms increase of £160.6 million or 1.3 per cent.

“In 2023-24, West Dunbartonshire Council will receive £227m to fund vital day-to-day services, which equates to an extra £13.5m or an additional 6.3 per cent compared to 2022-23.”