AN Accounts Commission report on council debt levels has found more local authorities are using reserves to fund services.

The watchdog said funding has reduced while costs and demands have increased, with Scottish Government funding down 5.2 per cent overall.

Council debt nationally is up £800 million, though that was not an immediate problem, according to the Accounts Commission.

West Dunbartonshire Council gets the second highest amount of money per person after Inverclyde and the four authorities getting special islands funds.

The council also has the highest external debt as a proportion of income, at 1.8 per cent, a large portion of that relating to their housing revenue accounts because they didn’t sell off housing stocks. Glasgow has a higher rate of external debt if you exclude West Dunbartonshire’s housing borrowing.

But West Dunbartonshire has the lowest council tax increase in Scotland, up less than 4 per cent and entirely down to banding reform. Labour froze council tax before the election earlier this year.

Ronnie Hinds, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Our evidence tells us that councils are finding the financial pressures increasingly difficult to manage.

“The elections in May this year brought in major changes in council administrations across Scotland. Councils that have demonstrated effective leadership and robust planning will be in a better position to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.”