West Dunbartonshire Council’s hugely unpopular school day cut was formally scrapped yesterday.

Several members of the local authority’s Labour administration apologised for the way the reversal was announced.

The council’s Chief Executive Joyce White also apologised for not notifying opposition members by letter about plans to drop the for five days after it was announced online.

The administration voted through the cut as part of £17million savings in their budget but were forced to pull the scheme within 48 hours after a public backlash.

The council’s education spokeswoman, Michelle McGinty, announced on the council’s Facebook page and website the ‘immediate removal’ of the decision to cut 30 minutes from the school day to save £1million.

Opposition councillors criticised the way the announcement was made at a special meeting of the council yesterday, claiming it was either a political statement or a statement of council policy which had not been agreed.

One of the reasons Mrs White gave for the announcement being made in that way was to avoid being in an ‘embarrassing’ situation with national media.

She also said due to the significant level of public concern the statement indicated plans to change to school day cut and said most of the public ‘don’t understand about the formality to approve that’.

Cllr McGinty apologised for not using the words ‘immediate effect’ and said the statement was not political but was to allay parents’ fears over the school day cut.

She put forward a motion to scrap the cut and the increase in breakfast clubs and take £216,800 gap in 2015/16 from the council’s reserves to balance the budget with money needed for the following two years added to the corporate savings target.

Councillor George Black made a second attempt to have his West Dunbartonshire People’s Budget approved but failed to gain support and the SNP group’s budget - which scrapped the school day cut and gave extra money to Women’s Aid - was voted out while Cllr McGinty’s motion was voted through.