THE SNP have accused Labour of making misleading claims of credit last week regarding three recent policy announcements made by the First Minister.

The opposition accused council leader Joe Cullinane of trying to take credit for the announcement to exempt care leavers from Council Tax, to set up a publicly-owned not for profit energy company and provide free sanitary products across educational institutions.

But the council leader hit back accusing the SNP of pettiness and contributing nothing locally.

SNP Group Leader Marie Burns said: “I am particularly disturbed by Councillor Cullinane’s refusal to even acknowledge the pivotal role of the Scottish Care Leavers Covenant in the Council Tax exemptions for young care leavers, when they have been working on this for months.

“To now claim this was something North Ayrshire Labour came up with two weeks ago strikes me as disingenuous, and I believe the public deserves better.”

Cllr Cullinane hit back saying: “Those posts highlighted that our Labour administration in North Ayrshire are already delivering much of what the First Minister announced. That is a simple fact, whether Marie likes it or not."

He also pointed out that the North Ayrshire period poverty initiative was not a pilot project.