Council tax freeze agreed for Glasgow

Glasgow City Council's budget's been approved, including a Council Tax freeze for 2021/22.

Councillors, meeting virtually, this afternoon passed a joint SNP and Green package, after the Greens agreed to support the SNP council's plans earlier this week.

The budget included resources to establish an improvement fund for local parks and green spaces, along with an expanded team of neighbourhood co-ordinators to tackle issues at a community level.

It creates a £2m recovery fund to support financial inclusion, access to healthy food and respond to the emerging needs of Glasgow’s communities as the city begins its recovery from the Covid-19 emergency.

Members also agreed capital investment in repairs; back courts and lanes; outdoor play for children, and £1 million of work at Whitehill pool.

The pool is one of more than 90 Glasgow Life venues being readied to reopen after lockdown, following a £100 million income guarantee backed by the council.

However, Conservative proposals to increase spending on cleansing were voted down. The Tory's had proposed going back to fortnightly bin collections and scrapping the proposed £30 special uplift charge for bulky items.

Nursery fees were also increased as part of the budget and the Affordable Warmth Payment, which gave anyone over 80 who is struggling to pay their heating bills an additional £100, has also been scrapped.

City Treasurer Cllr Ricky Bell said: “These are extraordinary circumstances – and it will take our city some time to properly recover from the social and economic trauma of the pandemic.

“That is why it is important that our budget decisions, in this year of all years, provide the targeted support that our communities and the most vulnerable people in them need.

“As Glasgow prepares to host the world at COP26, our budget also recognises that covid recovery and addressing the climate emergency are inseparable.

“These aren’t distant, intangible targets. They are about building better lives in healthier neighbourhoods; addressing challenges around the cost of living, and creating new opportunities for education and employment.”

A range of financial inclusion projects will also be initiated or expanded – including support in schools; for single-parent families and additional resources for the Lord Provost’s Funeral Fund, which helps low income families with bereavement costs.

Glasgow Conservative group leader Thomas Kerr said: "This budget is shameful. There's no big plans for the city. There's no plans to tackle the cleansing crisis that we're facing.

"This is sticking plasters of one year plans. But the most shameful thing about it is they've scrapped the Affordable Warmth Payment. They've abolished it.

"They've also hiked up nursery fees, which means parents who were already struggling now because of a pandemic may now have to pay huge increases in their nursery fees. It's utterly shameful this is what they've decided to prioritise."

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