Top 5 Issues Most Severely Impacting Glasgow’s Communities, According To UNISON’s Glasgow City Branch
Omar Malik
29/04/24
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Glasgow could, in many respects, be seen as Scotland’s answer to New York City - a lively, diverse and culturally rich city which is forever innately connected to its designated country.
A more grim yet realistic comparison between the cities comes in the form of stark socioeconomic inequalities.
While not as severe as the social and economic barriers affecting Glaswegians and New Yorkers decades ago, this disparity certainly still persists.
Blether spoke to Brian Smith, UNISON’s Glasgow City branch secretary, to discover the factors most negatively impacting Glasgow’s communities.
According to Smith, most of these issues stem from Glasgow City Council’s detrimental funding cuts.
1. School Teacher Losses
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In February, Glasgow City Council announced plans to enforce cuts to the city’s education sector in order to save £27 million.
As part of the education cuts, a substantial 450 teachers could lose their jobs over the next three years.
“The school teacher cuts are really worrying at the moment, with so many jobs on the line,” Smith told Blether.
The announcement caused uproar among activists and parents, with petitions and protests being directed towards the council in the hopes that they will reverse their decision.
Young budding teachers-in-training are now worried that their years in higher education have been for nothing.
Meanwhile, there are fears that many classes in schools across the city could be sent home should the education cuts go ahead.
2. School Support Service Cuts
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The council’s education cuts aren’t just causing concern for teachers’ futures, but the wellbeing of young people across the city’s schools could also be severely impacted by the plans.
MCR Pathways is a charity which provides support for Glasgow’s youngsters in the form of a 1-to-1 mentoring scheme.
Yet the cuts have now impacted the mentoring programme with funding support being withdrawn, garnering concerns for its future.
“Actually removing the scheme altogether, when it provides such a crucial mentoring service, is a huge issue at the moment,” Smith explains.
The mentoring scheme is especially aimed at supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
According to Smith, other support services within Glasgow’s schools are also likely to be impacted by the cuts: “We’re seeing cuts to services within the schools that try to support young people that are needing a bit of support in education - whether that be because of their family situation or being in foster care, for example.”
3. Lack Of Community Centres
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Community centres have long been a fundamental means of connecting locals, supporting vulnerable groups and promoting an active lifestyle.
In such a fast-paced city as Glasgow, these centres have been an essential tool to engaging communities - providing an outlet for young people, parents and elderly people.
But the services provided by the centres continue to be disrupted by the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Smith: “Some of the community centres which run various projects for Glasgow’s residents haven’t really reopened since COVID to be honest.”
“Some have been transferred to community ownership, which works for some - but for others it’s just passing on the responsibility to local people. They may not be informed enough to maintain the running of the service, meaning these centres end up disappearing,” Smith continued.
4. Cuts To Glasgow’s Museums
(Inside Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum. Image Credit: Sergii Figurnyi/Shutterstock)
Last October saw two of the city’s most celebrated museums, the Burrell Collection and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, shut down temporarily after a walkout by museum workers over proposed job cuts.
Plans to cut 38 jobs across the museums were announced last year, which resulted in staff taking strike action.
Smith considers the job cuts to be especially worrying: “The museum job cuts relate to the backroom staff, which sounds a bit boring but is actually critical as it’s the creators, the conservationists and those who display the various items and interactive exhibits.”
Despite making a case for the museum workers’ jobs to be saved, Smith told Blether that the job cuts are still likely to go ahead - only in a slightly different, yet visibly noticeable, way.
5. Pressures On Social Care Services
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But the most alarming challenge to Glasgow’s communities today comes in the form of cuts to social care services, according to Smith.
“There are significant pressures on social care in the city, both in relation to access and residential care, but this is even more acute regarding getting home care-based services,” Smith told Blether.
Physical and mental health care is also being drastically impacted by cuts, says Smith: “People need support when they come out of hospital, or they need support to stop them going in the first place - and those services have been cut back year-on-year to the point that there are very few mental health services provided by the council at all anymore.”
“If you’re an adult with disabilities, the services are especially poor now, I’d say - and the services for older people living in the community are also deteriorating because the amount of council-approved budget cuts will inevitably affect the quality of care services,” Smith continued.
While acknowledging the potential for increased money going to the NHS because of such cuts, Smith believes that the “overwhelming demands that are on the NHS are partly driven by the social care services not being good enough.”
If you would like to show your support in challenging Glasgow City Council’s budget cuts, please sign the petition.