Aye, another year, another budget, and what do we get in Glasgow? More of the same, only dearer, it seems. The city council has just hammered out its spending plans for 2026/27, and frankly, I’m left wondering how much more the folk of Glasgow can take. A 5.9% council tax hike, nearly double the current inflation rate, is a hefty slug for any household. It’s like they’re squeezing blood from a stone, but what choice do they have when the stone’s already crumbling?
The big beast in the room, the one that’s eating up all the oxygen and the cash, is the homelessness crisis. We’re talking about an estimated £56 million bill for the coming year. Fifty-six million quid, just to keep a roof over heads, often in unsuitable B&Bs or hotels, costing around £4.5 million a month. It’s a shocking figure, and it speaks volumes about the state of affairs.
City treasurer Ricky Bell, from the SNP, didn’t mince his words, did he? He said: “As we know, the most severe pressures facing this budget are because of the failures of UK asylum and refugee policy.” He’s right, of course, to point the finger. He added: “The crisis is not the making of those who are choosing to make Glasgow their home, and it is not our making either, yet it is Glasgow who are expected to absorb the consequences of failed policy made by a UK Government hundreds of miles away.” It’s a familiar tune, isn’t it, Westminster making a mess and Glasgow, with its big heart and open arms, left to pick up the pieces.
Around half of the demand for homelessness assistance is from refugees, exacerbated, we’re told, by the Home Office’s rush to process asylum claims. So, folk arrive here, often with nothing, seeking safety, and then our local services are stretched to breaking point trying to house them. It’s a humanitarian issue, yes, but it’s also a massive financial burden dumped squarely on the shoulders of the city.
The council’s had to approve a borrowing plan to cover this monumental bill, and the Scottish Government is chipping in a bit, £2.5 million, to help with the borrowing costs. But let’s be honest, it’s a drop in the ocean when you’re facing a £56 million problem. Cllr Jon Molyneux, the Glasgow Greens co-leader, hit the nail on the head, I reckon. He called it: “This is not a solution… it is a sticking plaster that gets us beyond today without having to make horrendous cuts.” A sticking plaster. That’s exactly what it feels like, doesn’t it?
He’s worried the Scottish Government isn’t quite grasping the urgency, but at least, he noted, they’re at the table. The real villain of the piece, according to Molyneux, is the UK Government. He said: “The UK Government’s total abdication of responsibility here is an absolute shameful disgrace.” I find it hard to disagree with that sentiment, actually. It’s easy to make policies from London that have devastating consequences for places like Glasgow, without ever having to feel the pinch.
So, what else is happening amidst this financial scramble? Free school meals for all primary seven pupils, which is a good thing, a wee bit of relief for families. Parking tariffs are frozen for two years, which is a rare bit of good news for drivers, but at a cost of nearly £5 million. Then there are the less palatable bits: cremation charges are going up, and the council tax premium on empty and second homes is doubling, hoping to bring in £1.6 million. Every penny counts, evidently.
They’re even spending almost £3 million on improving gully cleaning. Now, I’m all for clean streets and preventing floods, but when you’re looking at a £56 million homelessness bill, it makes you wonder about the priorities, or rather, the impossible choices these councillors have to make. It’s a testament to the fact that local councils are running out of money, not just in Glasgow, but right across Scotland.
And let’s not forget the Whitehill Pool. Closed because of dangerous RAAC concrete, they’re temporarily cutting its revenue budget to save half a million quid, while only spending £50,000 on a business case to reopen it. It’s a classic example of penny-pinching now, potentially costing more in the long run, and leaving a vital community asset in limbo. It just highlights the deep-seated issues facing our public infrastructure.
This whole situation makes me think about the broader picture of Scottish politics, power, and the path forward. We’ve got Holyrood trying to juggle its own budget constraints while dealing with the fallout from Westminster policies, and then local councils like Glasgow are left in the middle, trying to deliver essential services with one hand tied behind their back. It’s a thankless task, and the ones who suffer are the ordinary folk who call Glasgow home.
We need more than sticking plasters and borrowed money. We need a fundamental rethink of how local government is funded, and how the burdens of national and international policy are shared. Otherwise, we’ll be having the same conversation next year, only the numbers will be even higher, and the choices even grimmer. You can explore more about the Scottish Government’s approach to local government, but it often feels like a different world from the one on the ground in Glesga.
What kind of city do we want to be if we can’t properly house our most vulnerable, or keep our community facilities open? It’s a question that needs an honest answer, and a proper solution, not just another budget built on shaky foundations.
Source Reference: Information for this article was drawn from various news reports detailing Glasgow City Council’s 2026/27 budget decisions.
