Committee Information

Glasgow City Council Agenda - 11 September 2025, 11:00

A meeting to be held at City Chambers, Glasgow at 11:00 on 11 September 2025.

Number	Item
1	Minutes of Council meeting of 26th June 2025 (Print 3, pages 1 to 86) View Papers
2	Committees' minutes - Submitted for information and approval as a correct record only ( Page 87 onwards).
3	Proposed Changes to Committee Terms of Reference - Report by Director of Legal and Administration. View Papers
4	Changes to committees etc.
5	Representation on outside bodies.
6	Correspondence.
(a)	Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care; View Papers
(b)	Letter from Martin Rhodes MP; View Papers
(c)	Letter from Standards Commission for Scotland; and View Papers
(d)	Letter from Commission for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. View Papers
7	Questions.
8	Notice of motions.
(a)	Motion by Councillor Susan Aitken:- "Council believes that Glasgow's diversity is one of its great strengths, and that since its founding 850 years ago, migration has been a singular factor in growing the city, building communities and shaping our identity. More recently, Council acknowledges that we have welcomed thousands of new Glaswegians as the UK's most prominent asylum dispersal city and remain the only part of Scotland with a significant refugee population. Well over 90% of all refugees and displaced people who settle in Scotland have made a home in Glasgow. Council understands that the global refugee crisis is only likely to grow and believes that wealthy countries like the UK have a moral and practical responsibility to play in addressing that. Council also believes that Glasgow's ability to continue to play our very significant role in supporting the delivery of UK Government asylum and refugee policy and Scottish Government resettlement schemes must be adequately supported by those governments. Council expresses its deep concern about an increase in deliberate disinformation about asylum seekers, refugees and migrants that aims to spread fear and alarm among local residents and disrupt community cohesion, and which have led to incidents in Glasgow and other towns and cities in recent months. Council understands that such disinformation is often orchestrated by far-right groups and individuals and believes that it has the potential to present a real risk to the safety and wellbeing of minority ethnic people in our communities. Council understands that while much of this disinformation is spread online, it has also been amplified by elected politicians who abuse the privileged platforms available to them. Council condemns without reservation the actions of any politician who seeks to target and scapegoat migrants as the cause of structural challenges within society, such as housing shortages. In particular, Council is disgusted by attempts to blame asylum seekers and refugees for patterns of crime and suggestions that they pose a particular threat to women and children through sexual crimes, which Council understands to be one of the oldest and nastiest of racist smears. Council affirms the following to be true: - People seeking asylum and people who have been given leave to remain in the UK as refugees have legal rights under the 1951 Refugee Convention and are not "illegal" - as those spreading disinformation claim - nor are the vast majority of people who come from elsewhere to make their homes in Glasgow. - Glasgow City Council is not responsible for the housing of people seeking asylum but officers from the HSCP work closely with Mears, the Home Office contractors who have this responsibility. There are no intentions to use former care homes or similar properties to accommodate asylum seekers in Glasgow and Glasgow City Council would not support any such plans. - While there are significant numbers of people who have been given leave to remain in the UK as refugees among Glasgow's homeless population living in temporary accommodation, these individuals are not themselves responsible for housing pressures in the city, face the same challenges as other homeless people, and do not receive any special or priority treatment in the allocation of permanent accommodation. - There is no evidence to suggest Glasgow is less safe for women and children than other parts of Scotland and the UK, and no evidence to suggest that there is a higher incidence of child sexual exploitation or sexual violence against women among asylum seekers and refugees than among the population at large. - Glasgow builds more houses for social rent than any other local authority in the UK, more than Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Bristol combined in the last five years and has also used more CPOs to acquire empty homes than all other Scottish local authorities combined. Glasgow continues to have significant capacity to build and acquire more homes to address the housing emergency if funding is provided by governments. Council believes that Governments at all levels have a role to play in combatting disinformation and the threat it poses to the safety of not only asylum seekers and refugees and people who work with them but also the wider BAME population. Council therefore resolves to work across all levels of government, and with partners and stakeholders to ensure the rapid flow of relevant information when disinformation events occur, and asks that the Chief Executive write to partners such as the Home Office, Mears and Police Scotland to seek their undertaking to share relevant information quickly, and to work with Glasgow City Council and our partner agencies to combat disinformation as quickly as possible. Furthermore, Council understands that disinformation responses must be ongoing and adaptive and therefore instructs officers to ensure that instances of disinformation and misinformation involving our city and Council are recorded to better respond to emerging trends. Council understands however that Glasgow's unique position within the UK as an asylum dispersal authority and a magnet destination for people who have been given leave to remain creates particular pressures that may make it easier for disinformation to gain a foothold and which have made Glasgow a target for far-right lies. Council therefore supports calls by the Leader of the Council and others for the Scottish Government to recognise and respond to Glasgow's specific needs in its ongoing response to the housing emergency; and for the UK Government to urgently provide Glasgow City Council with the necessary funding to address the severe impacts of UK policies that have created thousands of homeless refugees and to change its policy approach, which is putting unacceptable pressure on local authority budgets. Finally, Council agrees that combatting the far-right disinformation threat calls for moral leadership from elected politicians at all levels and agrees that all councillors should reject racist fearmongering and defend democracy, human rights, and a society enriched by diversity, not threatened by it. Council understands that this means standing clearly and confidently for safe routes for people seeking asylum, properly funded services, and an asylum system that reflects the values we say we hold."
(b)	Motion by Councillor Stephen Docherty:- "Council notes that in 2019, Glasgow City Council declared a climate emergency and committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030. However, five years on, Council highlights reports indicating that the city is on course to miss this target, with current projections showing only a 73.8% reduction by 2030, far short of the 100% goal. Council further notes that Glasgow has reduced territorial carbon dioxide emissions by 46% since 2005, largely due to UK electricity grid decarbonisation, over which the Council has no control. In areas where local policy has greater influence, progress has been slower, with transport-sector emissions falling by only 19% between 2005-2021 - the smallest reduction among major sectors. Council believes that after five years, Glasgow should be far further ahead in cutting emissions in sectors it can directly influence. Council notes that the current approach lacks a fully funded, timebound delivery plan with clear annual milestones to meet the 2030 target. Council notes that Glasgow's household recycling rate was just 27.2%, as reported to the Operational Scrutiny Committee on 4 June 2025. This is significantly below both the Scottish national average of 43.5% and the Scottish Government's target of 70% by 2025, making Glasgow one of the poorest performing local authorities in Scotland for recycling. Despite national progress, Glasgow's rates have remained in the low 20% range for several years, indicating systemic issues that require urgent attention and reform. Council further notes that persistent issues such as missed bin collections, fly-tipping, and contamination continue to undermine public confidence and environmental outcomes. Council further believes that climate action must be delivered fairly, ensuring benefits for all communities, particularly those in fuel poverty, through lower bills, warmer homes and cleaner air. Council therefore resolves to: 1. Ask the City Administration to present to Full Council, or the appropriate committee for approval, within six months, a credible, fully costed and timebound Net-Zero delivery plan with: - Sector-by-sector milestones and annual targets for reducing emissions in transport, buildings and waste. - A costed programme for large-scale retrofitting and rapid roll-out of low-carbon heating. - Measures to address underperformance in reducing emissions. 2. Encourage the Leader of the Council to write to the Scottish Government seeking the necessary funding and legislative powers required to deliver these actions, and to report the Governments response to Full Council or the relevant committee within three months of receipt. 3. Establish a cross-party Climate Delivery Review Group, reporting to the most appropriate committee every six months to monitor progress and recommend delivery action."
(c)	Motion by Councillor Jon Molyneux:- "Council notes that dozens of Pollokshields residents have been displaced for almost two months due to the collapse of a neighbouring tenement at Albert Cross. Council also recalls similar circumstances in the recent past affecting residents around the India Buildings in Laurieston, the Trinity Building in Park, and Lancefield Quay in Anderston, as well as the previous fires at Albert Cross. Council understands that in such circumstances, residents are largely prohibited from re-entering their homes until they are made safe, and that this can mean they lose access to vital documentation, medication, work files or other essential items. This can result in loss of earnings, disruption to studies, immigration problems, health worries and added stress, as well as meaning that people have to make expensive 'repurchases' of items, often while insurance positions are unclear and they may not be eligible for other sources of support such as the Scottish Welfare Fund. Council believes that residents who find themselves in this position should be well supported and notes that there is precedent for providing direct financial support following major fires, such as Sauchiehall Street. Council therefore agrees: 1. To make a donation of £150,000 to the Lord Provost's Fund for Vulnerable Citizens if it agrees to ringfence those funds for the purposes of enabling immediate, direct financial assistance to Glasgow households who are forced from their homes and are unable to return for an extended period due to action taken by the Council under emergency powers, such as those in the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. 2. To ask the Trustees to make awards of £2,000 from this fund to qualifying households, backdated to 1st April this year. 3. To ask the Trustees to consider whether the Fund can also be a suitable vehicle for gathering and distributing funds from citizens who wish to donate in such circumstances. 4. To instruct the Chief Executive to undertake a review of existing arrangements for supporting residents and small businesses in such circumstances, with a view to ensuring the Council and other agencies are as responsive and supportive as they can be within their powers, and to involve those with lived experience in designing any improvements. The outputs of this work will be reported to an appropriate Committee within two cycles."
(d)	Motion by Councillor Laura Doherty:- "Council acknowledges that Glasgow has long recognised gambling as a public health issue, as set out in the city's 2022-2027 Strategic Plan. A key milestone in this work was the Wellbeing, Empowerment, Community and Citizen Engagement Committee meeting in August 2019 in the Shettleston ward. Council further recognises that it has consistently worked with community groups, campaigners, stakeholders, public bodies, world-leading researchers such as the University of Glasgow Gambling Research Collective, and people with lived experience to address gambling harms, most recently reporting to Committee on 17th April 2025. Council notes that the April 2025 report confirmed that, following the UK Government's announcement of a Gambling Levy, the Chief Executive would write to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Minister for Gambling to seek assurances on funding to support a public health approach to reducing gambling harms in Glasgow. The report also reaffirmed Glasgow's position that the UK Government must review the Gambling Act and ensure fair funding for the city. Council records its extreme disappointment that, despite this and previous correspondence on gambling harms, no response has been received from the UK Government. Council condemns this continued failure to engage, noting that Glasgow is disproportionately affected: the city has more bookmakers than anywhere in the UK outside parts of London, and based on national figures, an estimated 1 in 15 residents-around 45,000 people-may have a gambling problem. Council recognises that gambling harms cost the NHS, local authorities and other public services over £1 billion annually. Against this backdrop, and with the gambling industry generating revenues of £16.6 billion a year, the proposed £100 million statutory levy is inadequate. Council believes that the forthcoming UK Autumn Budget should ensure the gambling industry, not the public, bears a fairer share of the cost, and rejects measures that disproportionately burden the poorest communities. Council notes the recent intervention by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has joined the growing calls from public figures, politicians, policy experts and campaigners for tighter regulation and higher taxation of the gambling industry. Council recognises that, as Chancellor, Mr Brown oversaw the 2005 Gambling Act, which liberalised gambling laws and enabled the UK market to become one of the largest in the world. While this has created vast profits for the industry, it has also fuelled gambling-related harm and contributed to issues such as child poverty. Council welcomes Mr Brown's change of position but urges current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, his Cabinet and Labour colleagues-reported by The Times to have accepted over £1 million in donations and gifts from the industry-to sever their ties with gambling interests. Council reaffirms its commitment to tackling gambling harms and instructs the Chief Executive to bring an annual report to the Wellbeing, Empowerment, Community and Citizen Engagement Committee, setting out updated whole-systems actions informed by the Gambling Harms Summit: Standing Strong for a Safer Scotland. Council further instructs the Chief Executive to again write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Minister for Gambling, highlighting: - the lack of response to previous correspondence and the Council's motion of 22 June 2023 calling for gambling law reform, including recognition of Scottish anomalies and local powers; - the case for properly taxing the gambling industry in the Autumn 2025 budget; - and the need for the UK Treasury to design and deliver fair and proportionate funding for local authorities, particularly for communities most affected by the proliferation of "environmental bads" such as gambling, which are fuelled by and fuel poverty; and - Glasgow's proven track record in whole-systems work with researchers, stakeholders and people with lived experience, which uniquely positions the city to develop a UK Centre of Excellence for addressing gambling harms-funding research, education and treatment."
(e)	Motion by Councillor Catherine Vallis:- "Council notes the UK Government's £10 billion investment in the construction of Type 26 frigates, all of which will be built at BAE Systems' shipyards in Govan and Scotstoun. Council recognises the significant economic and social benefits this investment will bring to Glasgow, including the creation of approximately 2,000 skilled jobs locally and support for thousands more across the UK supply chain. Council further acknowledges the strategic importance of Glasgow's shipbuilding sector in contributing to national defence, industrial innovation, and long-term workforce development. Council also recognises the opportunity this investment presents to strengthen Glasgow's skills base and calls on local colleges, universities, and training providers to work in partnership with BAE Systems and government agencies to ensure that the city's workforce is equipped with the skills needed for long-term success in the sector. Council requests that future phases of the programme include community benefit clauses to ensure that local residents and young people have access to apprenticeships, internships, and career pathways in shipbuilding and engineering. Council resolves to: - Welcome this investment and its positive impact on Glasgow's economy and communities. - Call on the Scottish and UK Governments to ensure continued support for skills development, apprenticeships, and infrastructure in the city's shipbuilding sector."
(f)	Motion by Councillor Dan Hutchison:- "Council notes that the workers of the Village Hotel in Govan took the first hotel strike action in the UK since 1979 starting on the 9th August 2025. Council further notes that this action was required due to complaints on the grounds of equal pay, zero-hours contracts and age based pay disparity, in addition to failures to permit paternity leave and provide acceptable breaks. Council understands that this action was caused after over a year of negotiations by the workers during which the business failed to meet an acceptable settlement. Council celebrates that on 22nd August 2025, the workers accepted a negotiated settlement with their employers which settled pay disparities with the Edinburgh site, ended zero-hours contracts, as well as backpay to April 2024 and with a commitment for the business to pay the tax burden on this backpay. Council commends the brave action taken by these young workers in such precarious employment for standing firm for their rights and making such material improvements collectively to their working conditions. Council is encouraged by these wins by the workers of the Village hotel and hopes that hospitality businesses across the city take cognisance of the gravity of the victory that these workers have secured and ensure that they move to ensure their employment practices are not considered to undervalue or discriminate against their workers."
(g)	Motion by Councillor Christina Cannon:- "Council congratulates the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign on marking their 10th anniversary on 28th June 2025 and acknowledges their significant achievement of ensuring Scotland was the first country in the world to embed lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) inclusive education across the school curriculum in 2021. Council agrees that inclusive education is important for young people's development and that this learning should be meaningful, relevant and part of ordinary learning rather than exceptional or siphoned into particular calendar months or one-off occasions. Council notes that TIE provides services and resources that are co-developed with teachers to provide stage appropriate educational workshops for pupils and professional learning for teachers; and notes that schools who have engaged with TIE's learner sessions have reported that pupils within their school community have a greater understanding of diversity and the impact of prejudice. Council particularly commends the work of Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson - TIE's cofounders - for the incredible work they have done in building this campaign and thanks them for their dedication to ensuring Scotland's young people grow up in a society that is inclusive, free from prejudice and where young people feel celebrated regardless of their sexuality or gender identity. Council celebrates Glasgow's progress in delivering LGBT+ inclusive education, including successful ALLIES and Pride Lite events and Glasgow City Council's target of a 100% completion rate of the Scottish Government's Stage 1 and Stage 2 national professional learning for Glasgow's Primary and Secondary teachers. Council reaffirms its commitment to provide support in schools for LGBT+ young people, working with TIE and other partners to address emerging issues such as homophobia, transphobia and misogyny; and agrees to continue promoting TIE's resources to staff and pupils".
(h)	Motion by Councillor Robert Mooney:- "Council notes the valuable work of the Scottish Stammering Association in supporting people across Scotland, including here in Glasgow. In the past year, the Association directly supported hundreds of children, young people and adults through workshops and support groups, and reached many more through awareness events. Council recognises the challenges faced by people with a stammer, particularly around confidence and inclusion in education and employment, and the importance of tackling stigma across public services. Council welcomes the proposal for Glasgow City Council to affiliate with the Scottish Stammering Association and believes this would demonstrate the city's commitment to inclusion, awareness and support for people who stammer."