MSP Stuart McMillan has hit out at Inverclyde Council for forcing children as young as 12 to travel four hours a day on public transport just to get to school.

Secondary school pupils from the district who are attending the Glasgow Gaelic School are now faced with a lengthy return journey by bus or train each day, after the council axed subsidised transport as part of budget cuts.

The council took the decision to cut the transport funding to save £40,000 over the next two years, despite the fact there is no provision for Gaelic secondary school education in Inverclyde at present.

MSP Mr McMillan has criticised the council's refusal to consider other options on the table and believes the way the families have been treated is out of order.

He said: "It’s regrettable that the efforts of parents and myself have not been fruitful and that these concerns have fallen on seemingly deaf ears.

“These families will not forget how Inverclyde Council has treated them, and I know it’s contributed to fears amongst the local Gaelic community as to how serious the council are about expanding Gaelic education in the area.

"I am concerned about these young people travelling all the way up to Glasgow and back on public transport and the impact it is going to have on their welfare."

Mr McMillan says he has been in dialogue with parents regarding Gaelic eucation in Inverclyde for several years, firstly on the introduction of secondary school provision locally, and then regarding the removal of funded transport to Glasgow.

He said: “When local parents made the decision to send their child to Glasgow Gaelic, they have indicated that they were led to believe this transport was going to continue for the duration of their child’s secondary education.

"It wasn’t made clear to them that this wasn’t a statutory service and could be removed at any time."

While some parents have forked out for rail tickets for their chlildren other families are not able to afford them.

The MSP suggested the council could look for funding available from the Scottish Government and also asked them to consider running a joint service with Renfrewshire Council.

Mr McMillan added: "I could understand the council taking this decision once secondary GME provision within Inverclyde was available, but this won’t come into place until 2024/25. To remove this transport, when families who want their child to continue their education in Gaelic have no local alternative, is grossly unfair.

“They’re going to have to get up much earlier than when the funded transport was in place and will get home much later too. I fear this will result in the pupils missing out on after school activities either at Glasgow Gaelic or in Inverclyde."

Council leader Stephen McCabe has hit back at the criticism from the SNP man.

He said that all political groups on the council supported the cuts, including SNP councillors, and added that the alternative was to cut other services or raise council tax.

He added: "The decision to reluctantly withdraw free transport to the Glasgow Gaelic School was agreed unanimously by all political groups on the council, including Mr McMillan’s colleagues in the SNP, as one of many difficult decisions taken when agreeing this year’s budget.

"These cuts are a direct result of the Scottish Government cutting the council’s funding when setting their budget, something which Mr McMillan supported.

"If Mr McMillan has presented the council with options on how to achieve a saving and still provide free transport, I have not seen them.

"Councils across Scotland are making these tough choices as a direct result of decisions taken by Mr McMillan and his SNP colleagues.

"It is high time he owned these cuts rather than putting the blame on councillors who are having to manage their budgets in almost impossible circumstances.”