Glasgow City Council Agenda - 08 December 2022, 11:00 Help

A meeting to be held at By Hybrid Meeting at 11:00 on 08 December 2022.

Number Item
1Minutes of Council meeting of 27th October 2022 (Print 4, pages 387 to 404). View Papers
2Committees' minutes - Consideration of paragraphs marked "C", remaining paragraphs being submitted for information and approval as a correct record only (page 405 onwards). View Papers
3Local Government By-Election - Election of Councillor for Electoral Ward 1 (Linn) - Report by Returning Officer. View Papers
4Standards Commission Hearing - Report by Director of Legal and Administration. View Papers
5Changes to committee etc. View Papers
(a)City Administration Committee - Roman Catholic Church representative - Remove Canon Robert Hill and appoint Mrs Lorraine Legrix;
(b)Contracts and Property Committee - Remove Declan Blench and appoint Elaine McSporran;
(c)Digital Glasgow Board - Appoint Paul Leinster as Chair;
(d)Local Licensing Forum - Remove Emilia Crighton and Brian McNelis and appoint Daniel Carter as representative for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Chris McGuinness as representative for Greater Glasgow Hotels' Association; and
(e)Planning Applications Committee - Remove Elaine McSporran and appoint Declan Blench.
6Representation on outside bodies - South Sector Partnership - Remove Holly Bruce and appoint Elaine Gallagher. View Papers
7Correspondence.
8Questions. View Papers
9Notice of motions.
(a)Motion by Councillor Susan Aitken:-

"Council welcomes the reaching of an equal pay settlement with claimants' representatives that will enable the payment of the final tranche of compensation for the mainly women workers who experienced sex-based discrimination under the Council's pay and grading scheme. Council recognises that this is a major milestone and draws a line under the Council's previous failings as an employer in this regard.

Council extends its thanks to all those who have worked to secure both this settlement and the one paid to claimants in 2019, including Council officers and claimant representatives. In particular, Council pays tribute to the women workers who fought for equal pay justice for many years and did not give up even when the odds seemed stacked against them.

Council understands that the £770m total compensation bill will come at a significant cost to Council budgets in future decades. Council recognises that this is a direct consequence of inaction prior to 2017 to either acknowledge or address sex discrimination in the Council's pay and grading scheme.

Council agrees that it is now an urgent priority to put in place a new discrimination-proof pay and grading scheme for all Council staff and understands that partnership work with the Council's trade unions to do this is significantly advanced. Council instructs the Chief Executive to commit the necessary resources to complete this work and to provide updates on progress to elected members and Council staff through appropriate channels." View Papers
(b)Motion by Councillor Philip Braat:-

"Council notes that currently the forecast Budget gap for 2023/24 is £119.4million; that this is the highest single year gap faced by this Council; that since 2013/14 this Council has delivered savings of over £300million; and that the Scottish Government Resource Spending Review published earlier this year indicated real terms cuts to Local Government budgets prior to the challenges caused by the chaos of the current Conservative Government.

Council believes that this situation is unsustainable; it is to the direct detriment of the services that our citizens rely on; and continues to place extraordinary pressure on all staff across the Council who continue to strive to deliver for the citizens they serve.

Council further notes that the only locally set Tax, Council Tax, accounts for just 18% of the Council's budget. Therefore, Council believes that the onus for meeting the larger part of the 2023/24, and subsequent years, deficit falls to the Scottish and UK Governments working together. Council notes that neither Government operates a fixed budget, and that each has - to varying degrees - the flexibility to increase the resources available to them through taxation.

Council believes that this Council must speak with one voice in demanding a fairer funding settlement from our two Governments and in advocating for the further redistribution of wealth to support and protect vital front-line services. Council additionally believes that investments in Local Government reduce reactive spending elsewhere in the public sector, and that this must be recognised in the Scottish Government's budget.

Council therefore reiterates its support for the principle that Local Authorities should have the ability to implement 'ad hoc' revenue raising measures that fit their local circumstances, and commits to developing a Team Glasgow approach to build the case for Glasgow in the face of these extraordinary challenges, noting the commitment in the Council's strategic plan to "work with a broad range of partners, including the Trade Unions, the Third Sector and others, to build the case for greater funding for Glasgow from both Scottish and UK Governments."

Council resolves to write to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the First Minister of Scotland, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Finance in these terms." View Papers
(c)Motion by Bailie Anthony Carroll:-

"Council recognises that many vital industries in our city - such as hospitality, cleaning, and care - rely on shift work, which can mean workers not ending until late at night. The safety of those workers, who are predominantly women, has been an increasing concern.

Council believes that the duty of care employers have for employees must extend to take into consideration their welfare at the end of shifts, in particular for those ending at such un-social hours, in getting home.

Unite the Union's "Get me Home Safely" campaign calls on employers to take all reasonable steps to ensure workers in licenced venues are able to get home safely from work at night, and has been supported by other Councils across Scotland.

Safety against harassment and assault needs to be extended outside the doors of employees' workplaces. Council supports the strengthening of enforcement of laws against harassment and assault, in particular of a sexual nature, which currently has very low rates of reporting and convictions.

Council notes work done already through the Licensing Board in the previous Council term and expects this work to be strengthened through the below actions.

Therefore, Council will:

- Fully support Unite's "Get me Home Safely" campaign, and instruct relevant officers in Licensing, Transport and Community Safety to design an implementation plan to meet the aims of this campaign.

- Respond to the Licensing Board's policy consultation supporting further work to have free transport offered to workers getting home safely after 11pm by licence holders.

- Support the introduction of legal requirements for training transport workers on preventing gender-based violence, sexual assault and harrassment on public transport and private hire vehicles.

- Call on all public transport providers to provide later and more regular night service provision to ensure public transport options are available for late night shift workers.

- Investigate innovative approaches to providing workplace and community transport routes to improve worker safety and reduce the ecological impact of commuting.

- Support efforts for the municipal ownership of buses in order to lower prices and improve service provision, especially for night-time and off-peak services, and seek to include late-shift workers in work being on free public transport pilots.

- Make representation to appropriate levels of governance to bring forward national minimum standards for taxis and private hire as per the recommendations of the Task and Finishing group and in support of this motion and its demands on behalf of our local community." View Papers
(d)Motion by Bailie Thomas Kerr:-

"This Council notes the recent publication of Faces of Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) UK's One Year Report: Blueprint to Save Lives. Notes that in October 2021 they launched an Advocacy Service as a one year pilot aiming to help at least 40 people across Scotland to access recovery treatment of their choice and to understand and highlight the barriers to treatment. Notes that the service helped 54 individual clients across 11 different local authority areas and 14 Alcohol and Drug Partnership areas and that the majority of clients were from Glasgow. This Council congratulates FAVOR UK on being successful in receiving funding to continue its advocacy service for a further four years.

Council notes that there are six key recommendations within the report to support recovery from substance abuse:

(1) Introduce a clear definition of a residential rehabilitation place, so that nobody is sent to pretend rehab facilities that are really stabilisation or detox services.

(2) Introduce a centralised referral and funding system to end the postcode lottery to residential rehab, provide a more consistent approach across the country, and allow for rapid sharing of best practices across services.

(3) Introduce guidelines to ensure that psycho-social and mental health support is provided alongside substance management and pharmaceutical treatment.

(4) Introduce statistics to measure the number of people waiting more than six months, 12 months and 24 months for residential rehabilitation places and other forms of treatment too.

(5) Introduce a Right to Recovery Bill to ensure that the Scottish Government MAT Standards are actually implemented and people seeking treatment can actually get it.

(6) Return to community not centralised services. All of the evidence confirms that the centralisation of services has not worked and a return to community-based rehabilitation and recovery services would be beneficial.

Council affirms its key role in supporting Glaswegians in their recovery from substance abuse through the Health & Social Care Partnership and other Council services. Council requests that the HSCP considers the six recommendations from this report and further requests that a paper is brought to the next meeting of the IJB examining how the Council and the broader HSCP can support these recommendations on a practical basis.

In addition, this Council supports the Right to Addiction Recovery Bill proposed by Douglas Ross MSP MP and backed by several charities and frontline organisations, including FAVOR UK. Notes that this Bill would enshrine into law the right for individuals to access addiction treatment and place obligations on Scottish Ministers, Health Boards and other to provide treatment and set up reporting arrangements so that the quality and access of treatment can be monitored and reported to the Scottish Parliament. Council affirms its view that all individuals suffering from substance abuse have a right to seek and receive treatment which is appropriate to their own circumstances."  View Papers
(e)Motion by Councillor Chris Cunningham:-

"Council notes the publication of the 'Resetting The Course For Population Health' report by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health which details changes to mortality rates in Scotland, and across the UK, since 2012. The report examines a stalling in overall improvement of mortality rates, alongside increasing death rates among the most deprived communities, and a widening of inequalities. Moreover, this report adds to cumulative evidence that austerity measures have a disproportionately negative impact on several protected groups, including disabled people, the elderly, children & young people, ethnic minorities including refugees/ migrants, and women.

Council notes with concern that alongside a range of factors related to increases in health-related deaths, the report's assessment of UK and international evidence demonstrates that the main drivers of the changes were the UK Government economic austerity policies introduced in 2010.

The report is clear that the tens of billions of pounds that have been cut from public services and social security have had a devastating impact on our communities and resulted in decreased income, poor housing, poor nutrition, social isolation poor health and premature death. The Centre for Population quantified the scale of these excess deaths in Scotland as around 20,000.

The report is clear: 'Austerity is evidenced as making an important and substantial causal contribution and is likely to underpin a number of the other observed changes.' Of grave concerns is the conclusion by the report authors that the trends of the past decade are not inevitable but the result of political choices. In short, the evidence is that the policy of austerity kills and is continuing to kill our fellow citizens.

While the report makes the case for the avoidance of a second period of austerity through an increase in social benefits and ensuring public services are adequately funded, the sustained impact of the cost-of-living crisis, soaring inflation and a prolonged period of squeezing public finances resulting from the UK Chancellor's Autumn Statement makes it evident that we are entering a second era of austerity policies.

Council notes the asks of the report authors from local government including work already being undertaken by Glasgow City Council around financial inclusion and welfare advice, ensuring residents are aware of their entitlements, supporting the training and upskilling of citizens, using the City Region Deal to address inequality and progressing agendas around food security and community wealth building.

Council further notes the Centre For Population Health's support for interventions including the Welcome Place initiative, the creation and expansion of the pantries network, the value placed on early years and commitment to improving access to social housing and affordable transport.

Council condemns the continuation of the austerity that has become the hallmark of this UK Tory Government and commends the overall conclusions in the report, namely any further austerity policies that squeeze public spending will have disastrous impacts on our communities and result in more and more lives cut short.

And the council resolves to work, where it can, with all partners and citizens to mitigate the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, pandemic recovery and any further austerity and to seek opportunities to change the economic structures that lead to large wealth and income inequalities." View Papers
(f)Motion by Councillor Soryia Siddique:-

"Council notes: that the cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating the housing crisis being felt in the City, and across the Country; that the number of empty homes is likely to increase during the current crisis; that renters, prior to the rent freeze, face huge pressures and mortgaged homeowners are also likely to see huge pressures to their incomes due to spiking interest rates; and that homelessness is a continuing challenge in the City, which necessitates increasing the supply of homes in the social rented sector.

Council believes that rising energy costs, which adds further fuel to these pressures faced by renters and homeowners alike, demonstrates the moral and financial imperative to scale-up retrofitting and the implementation of energy efficiency measures, in addition to generating our energy that meets our net-zero targets.

Council is therefore disappointed to note that between 2017/18 and 2021/22, this Council has only spent 52% of the Energy Efficiency Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES:ABS) funding available to it - meaning that £11.4m has gone unspent in the City; notes that this is significantly below the Scottish average over the same period and further notes that in the four years prior the total underspend amounted to just £542,732. Council believes that this lost funding represents a significant missed opportunity for the City and its Citizens.

Council does, however, also note the success of the national Empty Homes Partnership which led to the creation of several Empty Homes Officers and the Empty Homes Strategy. However, Council believes that these efforts need to be stepped up and further supported in the face of the current crisis.

Therefore, Council resolves to establish a Glasgow Empty Homes Working Group, led by GCC and with representation from Wheatley Group and other RSLs, the Health and Social Care Partnership, the third sector and others. This working group should be established with clear terms of reference and should submit a Draft Action Plan to the relevant CPC by April 2023. This action plan should reiterate to the Scottish Government this Council's long-standing position in favour of the creation of Compulsory Sales Orders.

Council also considers that this report should outline the Council's proposed actions to address the significant shortfall in utilising the EES:ABS funding, including identifying the skills gaps in the Glasgow Workforce to ensure that as many Glasgow citizens as possible are able to take advantage of the opportunities presented by retrofitting and the implementation of energy efficiency measures. Council considers that one of the primary mechanisms available to it is by continuing to support City Building and making best use of its expertise.

Further, Council resolves to write to the Scottish Government to reiterate its support for the Scottish Government's belated rent freeze, express its support for the rent freeze to be extended, however notes that Registered Social Landlords will require additional funding from the Scottish Government to ensure that vital maintenance and investment in their housing stock continues." View Papers
(g)Motion by Councillor Blair Anderson:-

"Council recognises that much more needs to be done to ensure that all LGBTQ+ people are able to live healthy, happy, safe and peaceful lives, free from harassment, prejudice and hate.

Council believes that public discussion and debate around LGBTQ+ rights in recent years have too often been used as a cover to challenge and undermine the right of LGBTQ+ people to live in peace, with the attacks on trans people often mirroring the homophobic debates of the last century around issues such as Section 28.

Council notes that recent years have seen increases in the number of hate crimes reported in Scotland relating to both sexual orientation and transgender identity, with year-on-year increases of 10% and 87% respectively, marking the highest level ever recorded for both categories of hate crime.

Council believes that this rise in hate crimes is, at least in part, due to the increasingly hostile nature of public debate around LGBTQ+ rights, and the promotion of homophobic and transphobic misinformation and prejudice by figures in public life.

Council mourns the deaths of five people who were murdered in the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was an LGBTQ+ nightclub; this shooting follows the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which led to the deaths of 49 people at the LGBTQ+ nightclub. Council sends its love and solidarity to the LGBTQ+ community in Glasgow, noting that such attacks on LGBTQ+ venues can be particularly traumatic and be felt very personally by LGBTQ+ people regardless of location.

Council notes that trans people are particularly at risk of abuse and violence, and recognises that November 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which serves as an opportunity to remember and respect trans people whose lives were ended too soon.

Council welcomes and celebrates the many local, community-led organisations working to create spaces and provide services for the LGBTQ+ community, such as Bonjour, Category Is Books, Sanctuary Queer Arts, the Small Trans Library Glasgow and others.

Council recognises that LGBTQ+ people often face additional barriers when moving through the world and accessing public services, including justice, healthcare, education and sport.

Council understands that, for many LGBTQ+ people, there is a long-standing and deep-rooted scepticism towards the police and the justice system, due in large part to historic over-policing of minority groups, systematic cultures of prejudice which exist within those institutions, and lack of care, respect or action for those reporting hate crimes. Council welcomes progress which has been made in recent years on tackling this issue and welcomes the work done to promote the third-party hate crime reporting system, while recognising that there is more progress to be made.

Council welcomes the progress that has been made in promoting LGBTQ+ inclusive education in recent years, noting 21 schools across Glasgow are working with or have achieved Charter Status with LGBT Youth Scotland, and that 87 schools across Glasgow are registered on the lgbteducation.scot platform, established following the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign. Council further believes that education is the best route to building a more inclusive and accepting world, and recognises that more must be done to ensure all young people are able to receive an LGBTQ+ inclusive education.

Council notes the widespread criticism of FIFA's decision to award the World Cup to Qatar for their poor record on human rights abuses for LGBTQ+ people. Council recognises that LGBTQ+ people can often be made to feel unsafe, unwelcome or disrespected when engaging in sports. Council celebrates the work being done by groups including LEAP Sports, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, and Pride Sports to promote inclusive sports, with clubs like Glasgow Raptors RFC, Rainbow Glasgaroos, Glasgow FrontRunners offering a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people to participate in sports.

Council welcomes and looks forward to the introduction of national measures to make life better for LGBTQ+ people, including trans healthcare reform, Gender Recognition Act reform, and a ban on conversion therapy. Council also believes that there is more that can be done at a local level to make life better for LGBTQ+ people in Glasgow.

Council therefore:

- Affirms the rights of all LGBTQ+ people to live healthy, happy, safe and peaceful lives, free from harassment, prejudice and hate.

- Amends the Flag Flying Protocol for the City Chambers to include flying the pride flag on the first and last days of February (LGBTQ+ History Month) and the first and last days of June (LGBTQ+ Pride Month), and flying the trans flag on 31st March (Transgender Day of Visibility) and 20th November (Transgender Day of Remembrance).

- Asks the Lord Provost to write to the Governor of Colorado to express Glasgow's condolences following the Club Q shooting, and to arrange for the pride flag to be flown at the City Chambers on December 19th 2022 to honour the lives of those killed in the Club Q shooting one month on from the tragedy.

- Asks the relevant Conveners to convene a summit of Glasgow's LGBTQ+ elected representatives, venues, organisations and stakeholders, along with representatives from Police Scotland in Glasgow, to inform the Local Policing Plan and support its development in a way which respects the rights and needs of LGBTQ+ people.

- Asks the relevant Conveners to request that the Health and Social Care Partnership, in conjunction with LGBTQ+ people and stakeholders, undertake a review of their policies and practices in relation to the treatment and care of LGBTQ+ people - with particular consideration given to training, communication, and the collection, dissemination and implementation of best practice.

- Asks the relevant Conveners, in conjunction with Education Services, the Education, Skills and Early Years Committee, young people and stakeholders, and LGBTQ+ people and stakeholders, to undertake a review of relevant policies and practices in relation to the empowerment and support of LGBTQ+ young people - with particular consideration given to protecting the privacy rights of young people, allowing for the effective reporting of bullying or abuse, and ensuring access to relevant and effective personal, social and health education - with this review to be reported back to the relevant Council body/committee for consideration.

- Asks the relevant Conveners, in conjunction with Education Services, the Education, Skills and Early Years Committee, young people and stakeholders, and LGBTQ+ people and stakeholders, to develop an action plan to ensure the highest possible uptake of existing resources for LGBTQ+ inclusive education, with the aim of all schools in Glasgow effectively engaging with both the LGBT Youth Scotland Charter programme and TIE educational resources, with this action plan to be reported back to the relevant Council body/committee for consideration.

- Asks the relevant Conveners to request that Glasgow Life, in conjunction with LGBTQ+ people and stakeholders, undertake a review of their policies and practices in relation to the LGBTQ+ people ability to safely use Glasgow Life services and venues.

- Asks the Lord Provost to arrange for the pride flag to be flown at the City Chambers on December 18th 2022, the day of the World Cup final, to show solidarity with all LGBTQ+ people living under governments which oppress them and deny them their human rights." View Papers
(h)Motion by Councillor Holly Bruce:-

"Council reiterates its support in the Active Travel Strategy for more school-age children to walk, wheel and cycle, and recalls its ambition to increase the number of walking or bike buses across Glasgow.

Council notes there are now regular bike buses, which offer pupils a safe way to travel to school as part of a group, at Shawlands, Ibrox, Merrylee, St Fillan's and Hillhead primary schools. Council offers thanks to all the parent volunteers involved in setting up and running these bike buses and to Council and Police Scotland officers who have provided important support.

Council recognises that as well as providing a fun and healthy way of getting to school, bike buses also highlight the current lack of safe cycling infrastructure and routes suitable for children to travel to school and reaffirms the importance of the City Network in providing safe cycling access to all schools in the city.

Council notes that bike buses provide an opportunity to change transport habits and behaviours, helping to encourage the uptake of active travel so that it becomes the norm rather than the exception. As a result, bike buses positively impact on Council's net zero ambition by decreasing carbon emissions.

Council believes that there is an opportunity to use the momentum generated by the new bike buses, aligned to the UCI World Championships taking place in 2023, to substantially increase the number of bike buses in the city, with the aim of having at least one in each of the 23 council wards. Council therefore asks the Executive Directors of NRS and Education Services to bring forward a paper on how this aspiration can be supported, including by:


- Developing a 'how to' guide, which draws substantially on the direct experience of those currently running bike buses, in order to help others start their own local bike buses
- Considering what other resources or support could be provided, including access to bikes, safety equipment, route-planning advice, etc. In particular this should take account of barriers which may be faced by particular groups with protected characteristics or socio-economic factors.
- Writing to all primary schools to make them aware of this support and encouraging them to explore setting up a bike bus." View Papers
10Emergency Motion by Councillor Chris Cunningham:-

"This Council welcomes the UK Supreme Court decision on the legality of Buffer Zones in Northern Ireland. The decision validates and confirms the position taken by this Council from 2018 onwards, that buffer zones are the best and most appropriate way to balance the rights of women with the rights of those who may wish to change the law. In light of the precedent set by this decision we look forward to the Scottish Government introducing legislation to address this issue in Scotland.

Those who seek to have the law changed are entitled to their views and to campaign for such a change but that should not extend to harassing individual women attending hospital or clinics. Women are entitled to seek advice and medical assistance in regard to their pregnancy. Their right to privacy without harassment must be respected and protected.

The exact provisions of buffer zones will require to be developed and debated but for reasons of consistency and legal clarity this Council believes that national legislation is the most appropriate way forward. We therefore call upon the Scottish Government to commence the process of introducing legislation to this effect as soon as possible. Council agrees to work with the Scottish Government and partners to gather evidence about the impact these protests are having in Glasgow. We commit to working to ensure that the legislation is consistent with the rights of all parties but which results in women being able to access health services within the law and free from harassment."  View Papers
11Committee Terms of Reference - Report by Councillor Greg Hepburn, Business Manager and Convener for Open Government. View Papers