Community councillors have hit out over a lack of funding that is limiting their ability to lead projects.

The criticism comes after it was revealed both Renfrewshire Council and East Renfrewshire Council pay less than 10p per resident per year to community councils.

This means they are among the worst local authorities in Scotland in terms of financial help for community councils.

In East Renfrewshire, just 4p of funding per resident is set aside for community councils each year – the second lowest in Scotland.

The figure for Renfrewshire is 9p per resident.

And there are complaints that, as well as being underfunded, community councils are restricted in what they can use funding to pay for, such as administrative costs for the likes of stationery.

Robert Mould, chair of Neilston Community Council, said: “It’s a bit difficult, as all they fund you for is administration. Right now, we find it difficult to use up the funding we have but, if we had funding for actual projects, that would be a different matter.

“At the moment, we can only buy paper and similar items. For anything else, we need to raise our own money.

“Extra funding would be best for projects and would allow us to do more in the community.”

In light of the criticism, local authorities have pointed out that community councils receive other benefits.

A spokesperson for East Renfrewshire Council said: “We work hard to support the valuable work of our community councils and provide assistance in a variety of ways. In addition to the annual administrative allowance, which is provided to assist community councils with operating costs, the council provides indirect financial assistance by paying the annual insurance and data protection costs for each of the organisations.

“Free hall hire is also provided for monthly meetings, as well as the printing of agendas and minutes.”

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson added: “Community councils are funded by a flat rate award, topped up by a per capita element, to ensure they are treated fairly. They also have access to support services through a council officer and other support in kind.

“The administration grant is largely for running costs and they have the opportunity to access other council funding streams, such as Local Area Committee (LAC) funding. Already this year Renfrewshire’s LACs have awarded a total of £93,703 to community councils for projects.”