Addressing austerity and the cost-of-living crisis is a key priority for Glasgow City Council. It simply has to be.

The UK’s rate of inflation is at its highest for 40 years, food costs are rising daily, and the energy price cap is expected to increase by 40% by October.

For those on the lowest incomes, the bare necessities are consuming an ever-larger proportion of their household resources, and many will be overwhelmed.

In recent days we’ve taken a number of significant decisions which will make a positive difference to struggling residents.

Our gift card scheme has now cleared its final hurdle, with tens of thousands of low-income households to receive £105 to spend in city businesses later this summer.

Designed to give Glaswegians direct and practical help to cope with rising costs, the scheme has been made possible thanks to a £9.5m Covid Recovery Fund provided by the Scottish Government.

The fund’s primary aim is to give businesses across Scotland a boost as they re-emerge from the two years of hardship wrought by the pandemic.

Here in Glasgow, we’ve decided that we can use that funding to do two things - both providing businesses with the customer boost they need while at the same time giving spending power to those at the sharp end of this crisis.

To that end, over 84,000 households will receive their gift cards in August, allowing them to spend the £105 in any of the businesses which have signed up to the scheme.

We have used the information which tells us which households receive council tax reductions to determine who is eligible for the scheme and letters will be sent explaining how to activate the cards.

Measures will be in place to help prevent theft and fraud and these will be detailed in the letter, as well as contact details within the council for any advice and assistance.

Working with the Scotland Loves Local campaign, almost 800 business are already fully on board, with around another 400 expected to sign up in the weeks ahead.

Advisors from the council will also visit as many businesses as possible to encourage them to join as it’s crucial that as many firms as possible in every neighbourhood benefit.

Of course, too many Glaswegians who should benefit from this kind of assistance don’t have full-time addresses and can’t be contacted via council tax details. So, we’ve set aside over £400,000 from the fund to help those groups cope with rising costs.

Supermarkets, local convenience stores, butchers, greengrocers, cafes, restaurants and many other businesses will accept the cards and Glaswegians can keep up-to-date with where they can be used through the Scotland Loves Local website.

Over a decade of Tory austerity, Brexit, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have combined to create the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

The gift card scheme can, I believe, make a positive and genuine difference to those worst affected.

And at last Thursday’s full council, my motion that the city council step up all efforts with the powers and resources we have to assist vulnerable people secured the support it needed to go forward.

It spelt out the things we can do in the short-term, such as making sure we assist residents accessing every single penny in benefits and support they’re entitled, to longer-term policies around fair work and progressive employment practices.  

Ramping up all that we do to help those suffering most from this crisis won’t be easy. With budgets already over-stretched and demand for services rising, tough decisions are required.

But we simply have to get our priorities right. That’s what Glaswegians need from us, now more than ever.

Children's Holiday Food Programme

Like all of Glasgow’s SNP councillors, I’m hugely proud of the Children’s Holiday Food Programme we introduced back in 2018.

We identified a need and addressed it. By the end of this summer, approaching 100,000 youngsters will have taken part in those four years.

The city council has resourced the programme with over £8m since its inception, with activities delivered by groups with deep and real community connections - organisations from the third sector, churches, housing associations, sports clubs and charities.

Staff within these organisations best know and understand the communities and local needs they serve.

And by making the provision of food part of the day of school holiday activities and opening it up to all local children, Glasgow’s approach removes any stigma from those taking part.

It truly is a pioneering, inclusive and really impactful policy which addresses long-standing issues of poverty, health and the pressure too many parents face during school holidays.

In the current cost-of-living crisis its need has rarely been greater.

I’m delighted to say that this summer’s programme has kicked off this week and details can be found on the council’s website simply by searching ‘Children’s Holiday Food Programme’.

Around 50 organisations right across the city are delivering activities and there will be something close to all families and carers.

The response from all those taking part is always hugely positive, so find out what’s happening near you.

Community control of local assets

Community control of local assets has been one of Scotland’s most progressive policies in recent years.

We’ve long hailed its success in rural areas and now it’s taking hold in our cities.

In recent days we’ve started negotiations with several more organisations with deep roots in their neighbourhoods to have a stronger and deeper role in the facilities they operate from.

Glasgow City Mission has been working with children and families in Govan for 35 years. Their plans to transform the old depot grounds in Elder Park into a new outdoor learning space for children are now the subject of formal talks with the council.

So too Shettleston Community Sports Trust, a crucial organisation in the east end delivering everything from football academies to food banks and day activities for the elderly.

We’re discussing how they can have more control of their Greenfield Football Centre base, a move I believe can boost the benefits they deliver.

And Pollok Utd, an important grassroots organisation in the south-west over the past two decades, is discussing more hands-on running of the Nethercraigs Sports Complex.

Meanwhile, moves are under way for the reopening of more Glasgow Life’s community facilities which were impacted by the pandemic.

We allocated £1.1m to do this in February and are now identifying those which are a priority for their communities and developing the consultation on how best to use that money to facilitate the reopening. The SNP believes in Glasgow’s communities.