AN MSP has slammed the Scottish Government for its under-funding of West Dunbartonshire Council.

Neil Bibby, who represents the West of Scotland region, made the comments after figures were released from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), showing a real-terms funding drop of £117 per person since 2013.

In real terms, £810 million has been cut from council budgets by Holyrood, causing Scottish Labour MSPs to warn of services being put at risk.

Mr Bibby said: “The SNP have hammered West Dunbartonshire Council with cuts – and cuts to councils are cuts to communities.

“More than £800 million has been stripped from council budgets in real terms in recent years and lifeline local services are at risk.

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“Instead of using the powers of Scotland’s Parliament to stand up to the Tories, the SNP government have acted as a conveyer belt for cuts, imposing excessive austerity on to council services and local communities.

“It’s time for the SNP to stop the council cuts and start investing properly in local services again.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We continue to ensure that our partners in local government receive a fair funding settlement, despite further cuts to the Scottish Budget from the UK Government.

"We are delivering a funding package of £11.2 billion for all local authorities in 2019-20 – a real-terms increase of more than £310 million for essential public services in Scotland.

“All local authorities receive their fair share of the total funding available.”