A FREEDOM of information request submitted by Dumbarton and the Vale’s MSP has revealed council leader Jonathan McColl attended barely a third of the meetings of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s health board and committees.

But the council leader has hit back at Jackie Baillie’s comments, slamming her for “hypocrisy”.

After obtaining his diary entries under freedom of information rules, Ms Baillie said Cllr McColl– West Dunbartonshire’s only elected representative on the health board – had attended only 36 per cent of all the board and committee meetings he could have done since June 2017.

The Scottish Labour MSP said: “It seems that many of the appointments that Councillor McColl has in his diary which clash with the health board meetings could easily have been rearranged.

“The acute services review which the health board is currently undertaking is the single biggest issue for people in our community.

“It is so important that the views of people in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven and Helensburgh are heard, which is why I am so disappointed that our only representative doesn’t see the meetings of the health board as a priority.”

However, Cllr McColl retaliated, claiming Ms Baillie has missed 40 per cent of WASPI meetings that she co-chairs, and made only 42 per cent of meetings with the parliamentary armed forces group.

He said: “I do not think it’s unreasonable that busy people in positions of public responsibility like Ms Bailie and I prioritise our time to best serve our constituents, but it’s incredibly hypocritical of her to criticise me for doing exactly as she does.

“I’m not criticising her for all these no shows on issues important to local people; I’m quite sure she had other priorities and like me, represented her constituents on these issues in other appropriate and effective ways.”