SOME of the Clackmannanshire Council budget cuts can now be taken off the table, according to one Green MSP who hailed a “monumental” Holyrood deal worth £1.5million to the Wee County.

The party reached an agreement with the minority SNP administration for the budget-setting process and as part of the deal, more money is expected to be injected into the council coffers.

Officers at Kilncraigs prepared almost £10m worth of savings options for elected members to consider when they set their budget in the near-future.

These include the withdrawal of music tuition to save almost £200,000, or the reduction of learning assistants to save £439,000.

Supported bus services could also disappear to cut £175,000 out of next year's budget; while changes to staff terms and conditions have been proposed to save somewhere between £500,000 and £1m.

However, following the announcement from Holyrood today, MSP Mark Ruskell said some those proposals can now be shelved.

The Mid Scotland and Fife representative added: “I am delighted that my Green MSP colleagues and I have been able to seal this monumental deal which will ensure Clackmannanshire Council’s proposed cuts to education and children and family services can now be scrapped.

“This deal demonstrates how electing Greens can make a real difference to communities.

“I have continuously pressed for these cuts to be scrapped and I’m thrilled that we have delivered a fair settlement today that will allow the council to cancel the vast majority of proposed cuts.”

The extra cash could also prevent cuts to community halls and centres, as well as Community Access Points.

Altogether, £170m extra has been promised to councils across Scotland.

Finance secretary Derek Mackay said: “As a parliament of minorities, we must work across the chamber to find compromise and consensus in order to give support, sustainability and stimulus to our economy and to our public services.

“This budget invests record amounts in our NHS, supports our efforts to improve attainment in our schools, invests in our economy with support for infrastructure, for broadband and for innovation, and supports our ambitions to tackle climate change.”

SNP MSP Keith Brown also welcomed the move, saying: "The draft budget settlement announced today means an additional £1.502 million in funding for Clackmannanshire Council, representing an above-inflation funding uplift."

Speaking about tax plans, he added: "If fully endorsed by parliament in the coming weeks as expected, this will also mean a tax cut for 70 percent of Scottish taxpayers, with opinion polls indicating that these progressive income tax changes are overwhelmingly popular with Scottish taxpayers."