THE Scottish Pipe Band Championships, cemetery maintenance, switch-on events and 180 jobs face being axed as West Dunbartonshire Council reveals £13 million in proposed budget cuts.

Documents released on Friday revealed an array of potential cuts to services across Dumbarton and the Vale which councillors will debate at a full council meeting on December 20.

Among them the school clothing grant budget – frequently praised by the council as being the highest in Scotland – would be cut by half from £100 to £50 per child, while almost £700,000 from the school budget could be slashed.

The proposals also contain plans to end central council funding for free swimming lessons, swap hot school meals with a sandwich on Fridays and ready-meals would replace freshly prepared ingredients in school canteens.

School crossing patrols could also take a hit with 40 jobs set to be lost should the council switch to a volunteer operation.

Council tax rises will increase from three to four per cent if the Scottish Government remove the cap as expected.

Opposition members also leaked a so-called “secret document” revealed only to senior politicians containing a further £1.2m in cuts to jobs which they say would scrap free school milk at lunchtime for primary school pupils and force secondary school pupils to clean their own classrooms.

The document has resulted in opposition members blasting the SNP for using “smoke and mirrors” to hide the true scale of cuts.

Leader of the opposition, Councillor Martin Rooney, said: “Low-income families and low-paid council staff will be the biggest losers under the proposals to scrap Labour’s clothing grant top-up and lose dozens of jobs from school janitors and catering staff.”

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie added: “The SNP has been caught red-handed trying to hide the scale of the cuts and job losses from communities in Dumbarton, Clydebank and the Vale of Leven.

“The budget cuts announced on Friday would increase the gap between the richest and the rest in our local schools and make West Dunbartonshire a less attractive place to live with overgrown grass, fewer street cleaners and more fly-tipping.

“To make matters worse, now we know that the SNP-led council has already decided to make even more cuts behind the scenes without facing a vote in the council chamber never mind telling members of the public.”

“No amount of SNP spin or smoke and mirrors can hide the scale of the cuts and job losses on the cards.”

As previously reported, the care of gardens scheme has been dramatically reduced in a bid to save cash prompting a motion for the council to “think again” by Ms Baillie. However, the proposed changes would also include a reduction in grass cutting services, street cleaning and the removal of summer bedding displays altogether.

While some of the area’s much loved events such as the Scottish Pipe Band Championships, the Loch Lomond Highland Games, Bonfire night displays and Christmas switch-on events could be scrapped to save £150,000 a year from 2019/20.

Old Kilpatrick’s recycling centre would also be removed, with services being centralised to Alexandria, and all festive lighting would cease. Christmas trees would also be reduced to one location in Dumbarton, Alexandria and Clydebank.

Cemetery maintenance would be scaled back to fortnightly grass cuttings and weed killer placed around headstones instead of weed removal, resulting in a “small impact on the appearance” of the area.

Councillor Ian Dickson said: “At this stage we do not have the final budget figure from the Scottish Government, so we cannot say with certainty exactly how much money we will have to spend on local services; we await the Scottish Government’s budget announcement this Thursday.

“While we remain part of the UK, we will be at the mercy of either blue or red Tories, and the list of savings options prepared by our senior managers is a direct result of Westminster’s damaging austerity policy.

“We will do what we can to minimise the impact on the most vulnerable but these next few years are not going to be easy.”

Council leader Jonathan McColl added: “I want to stress that no decisions have been made on any of these savings options.

“The consultation which will launch in January is an opportunity for residents to be fully involved in this process and let us know which options are most acceptable to them.”

The online consultation will launch in January and remain open for several weeks, with the results presented to the council budget meeting on February 21.