CASH-STRAPPED councils have made a direct funding plea to British ministers, bypassing their “broken-down” relationship with the Scottish government.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) had already joined with its counterparts elsewhere in Britain by writing to Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt with a plea to loosen the purse-strings on public spending in his spring Budget, which is due to be presented to MPs at Westminster on Wednesday.

The letter warned: “Without additional support, there will be inevitable cuts to essential services provided by the four nations, which could have a detrimental impact on sustained efforts to mitigate against poverty and homelessness.

“Investment in councils will ensure a more efficient delivery of key government policy agendas and should be considered as a valuable asset as we collectively aim to improve outcomes for our communities.

“Statutory services are having to be prioritised, meaning disproportionate cuts are being made to preventative services areas such as leisure, culture and cost-of-living supports which mitigate against the development of negative mental health, wellbeing and poverty.”

While the Cosla call was for more cash for the Scottish budget, which they hope will then be passed on to councils, two local authorities have taken matters a step further.

Amid the ongoing dispute between Cosla and the Scottish government over struggling councils facing even stiffer cuts if they refuse to deliver a council tax freeze, the leader of Inverclyde Council has written to Tory Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to request an “urgent intervention.”

Councillor Stephen McCabe, whose authority is the second in Scotland so far to defy the SNP-Green council tax freeze, joined with colleagues in West Dumbartonshire to request direct British government assistance for their authorities, effectively bypassing Holyrood.

The councillor told  BBC Radio Scotland on Friday: “We’ve got a United Kingdom Conservative government. We deal with them all the time over lots of things.

“The reality is the relationship between the Scottish government and local government has broken down, so we are perfectly entitled to go to the UK government.”

On his decision to increase council tax by 8.2 per cent, he said it would cost residents on average “£1.99 a week.” 

He added: “I don’t think that is an unreasonable amount to pay extra to protect jobs and services.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “In line with Scottish local authorities, we are calling on the Chancellor to use the spring Budget to deliver a fair settlement for Scotland.”