Leader of Argyll and Bute Council, Councillor Robin Currie said: “Council services need funding. The harsh reality is that Argyll and Bute is facing a budget gap of more than £10 million next year alone.

“Council services are paid for mostly by Scottish Government funding and council tax. Every 1% increase in council tax generates another £600,000 or so to invest for our communities.

“The Scottish Government announced that it would fund a freeze in council tax. However, given conditions attached to some of the funding the council is receiving, and considerable cost pressures on the budget, the harsh fact is that Argyll and Bute is facing yet another multi-million-pound budget gap.

“Our focus has to be on delivering a responsible budget that deals with this reality and protects as much as possible the services communities need.”

CoSLA, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which campaigns for fair funding on behalf of councils, has produced a budget reality analysis showing a £62.7 million cash cut to councils.

Councillor Gary Mulvaney, policy lead for Finance Services, said: “We want what our communities want – to go on delivering the services that support day-to-day life in Argyll and Bute. We need funding to do that. On top of the £10m gap in revenue budget for actually delivering services, we face around a £29m gap in our capital budget for infrastructure, from buildings to bridges. We face difficult decisions to keep our most vital council services available for our communities.”

Balancing the council’s budget will be discussed at the Policy and Resources Committee on 15 February, before the council sets the budget at its meeting on 22nd February.