Glasgow residents are struggling to complain on council app
The MyGlasgow app is set up to provide a range of services from requesting a bulky waste collection to reporting fly tipping or graffiti.
It also offers links to useful information about school holidays, paying council tax or updates to online announcements via social media.
The issues facing the app comes after a cyber attack hit servers operated by a third-party supplier to one of the council's ICT providers, CGI.
The cyber incident was discovered in the early morning of Thursday, June 19 when CGI discovered malicious activity on servers hosted by a third-party supplier.
Councillor Dempsey says she is unclear if the problems with the MyGlasgow app are a direct result of the cyber incident as she claims councillors were unaware of any issues for a long time.
She said: 'I have had numerous people telling me that they have tried to report problems with bins, council tax issues and anti-social behaviour in their local park through the MyGlasgow app.
'Where they would normally get an acceptance notification to say we have received your complaint and that it is being processed, some of my constituents are saying they haven't even had that and are not convinced their complaint has gone through.
'I have had a couple of people asking me to take the complaints up on their behalf as a result.
'In general there are always issues with the IT system outside of this cyber attack. Over the last couple of days the phone lines have also been down.
'It is hard to say if the MyGlasgow app issues are a direct result of the attack as we were unaware of the incident for so long. We found out shortly before the public found out.
'There are still IT problems for the constituents and I know that I have encountered problems on my machine as have other members.
'We don't know how long it has been going on, how deep it has gone or the way it has affected the council overall.'
Glasgow City Council's most recent update on the incident last week highlighted that although council services have been disrupted, the loss of web-based services was caused by the isolation of the affected servers, rather than the cyber incident itself.
A spokesperson previously said: 'Wherever possible, the council put in place alternative ways to access services on a temporary basis and, in parallel, began safely restoring the affected services.
'Many of the highest priority services are now back online, with temporary workarounds in place for others.
'A recovery plan is in place to restore each of the affected services, with all but a handful of applications, which are dependent on external support, expected back online by mid-August.'
Council services affected by the incident have included accessing online planning applications as well as birth, death and marriage certificates.
The council diary where details of upcoming and past meetings have also been offline and will continue to be prior to the committee cycle resuming next week.
The council says papers continue to be available, as they always were, and can be picked up in person at the city chambers.
A spokesman said: 'We anticipate that the council diary will be available prior to the resumption of the committees after summer recess. However, in the meantime, papers are being provided to the media and are available to the public at the City Chambers, or on request.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Charity appeals ruling in bid to keep homeless shelter open
Homeless Project Scotland said the complaints depend on claims there has been a 'deterioration in local amenity and an alleged rise in anti-social behaviour'. In its appeal, the charity said there is no evidence to back up the claims linking the shelter to the harms cited. READ NEXT:'Frightened' homeless Glasgow teenager put in hostel dorm 'full of men' The Shelter has been operating in Glassford Street since December 2023 with a free food service in the evenings. Local residents and nearby businesses have said the shelter has led to more anti-social behaviour and said the queues outside before it opens are detrimental to the character of the area. The charity in its submission states: 'Allegations of disorder, intimidation, and criminality are generalised in tone and speculative in content, often lacking dates, photographs, or incident reports.' It also said it is significant that the police have not objected to the shelter. The charity states it believes it has been refused permission on 'the basis of perception, prejudice, and an unevidenced fear of crime'. READ NEXT:Mother and new baby turned up at homeless shelter needing help It states: 'This omission carries substantial evidential and legal weight. In planning terms, the views of police are often determinative when objections relate to crime, public safety, or anti-social behaviour. It adds that a named police officer confirmed there is no causal link between the shelter and crime trends in the area. The ongoing wrangle has developed since the charity moved into the premises and operated without planning permission. The council issued orders to close with a deadline to comply but the charity, in the meantime, applied for permission which was subsequently refused. Homeless Project Scotland has now exercised its right to appeal the decision allowing it to continue operation until the process is exhausted. The basis of its appeal is that the shelter is an essential part of the solution, not the cause of a persistent problem in Glasgow city centre. The appeal states: 'These are long-standing urban challenges, rooted in structural factors such as economic deprivation, housing undersupply, public health inequalities, and mental illness. 'The shelter is not a source of the problem; it is an emergency intervention designed to alleviate its most dangerous manifestations.' The organisation said that without the shelter, many people would be out on the streets overnight. It said: 'The benefits of the night shelter are not speculative, they are verifiable and substantial.' It added: 'The shelter's operation is consistent with the Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan, supports Glasgow City Council's statutory duties under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.' A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council, said: 'An appeal has been received in respect of this application and it will be considered by the Planning Local Review Committee in due course. 'It would be inappropriate to comment further while this appeal is in place.'
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Police Scotland sends report to prosecutors after Glasgow councillor charged with fraud
Labour veteran Frank McAveety was arrested and charged earlier this year in connection with fraud offences. Police have sent a report to prosecutors after a former Labour leader of Glasgow City Council was charged with fraud offences. Frank McAveety is a former Labour MSP and Cabinet Minister who also led the council on two occasions. A spokesperson for Police Scotland said in April: 'A 62-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with fraud offences in the Glasgow area between 2022 and 2024. 'A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.' The force has now told the Record a report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. McAveety represents the Shettleston ward and is currently listed as an independent. He was leader of Glasgow council between 1997 and 1999, and between 2015 and 2017. Here you can get your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Record, Sunday Mail and Record Online. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. You can also check out our social media channels for live us on Twitter @Record_Politics for the latest news. Or you can catch all the action by following our team: @paulhutcheon, @andrewjquinn97 and @dennynews. We're on Facebook where you can join our Record Politics group for all our stories. We also have a weekly politics podcast, Planet Holyrood, which you can listen to Spotify or Apple music, or watch on the Daily Record YouTube channel.
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Scotsman
Delayed Subject Access Requests have impact on survivors seeking justice
Amy Haughton says councils are failing in their obligation to act in timely manner Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Earlier this year, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued reprimand notices to two Scottish local authorities – Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council – relating to widespread delays in responding to Subject Access Requests (SARs). SARs are the mechanism by which individuals can access the personal data organisations hold in relation to them. As part of the right to access this data, strict timescales apply for responses to be provided. A response must ordinarily be provided within one month, with an extension of up to two further months being possible to allow for complex situations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The local authorities in question have found themselves in trouble because their responses to a significant volume of SARs were delayed by months or, in some cases, over a year. Glasgow City Council were found to have failed to respond within the statutory timescale in more than 50 per cent of SARs from the period of investigation, with City of Edinburgh Council just slightly lower at 40 per cent. Rarely will an individual make a SAR out of curiosity alone, says Amy Haughton While any breach of the statutory period is a breach of an organisation's obligations, a particularly concerning factor with the failings by these local authorities is that many of the requests were for historic social work records required for applications to the Scottish Government's Redress Scheme, or to support other investigations into action relating to historic abuse. It is a difficult step for a survivor of childhood abuse to begin the process of taking legal advice or seeking redress. From the perspective of building a case, evidence can be the biggest practical hurdle and is often also a very emotive subject, fuelling fears around not being believed by the system. Social work records are a basic piece of evidence required for a survivor of in care abuse to proceed with action, often verifying the dates of residence or even documenting incidents which support the survivor's testimony. Having started an already challenging process, many survivors have been faced with months of waiting to find out if the evidence they need exists, or when it will be made available. Even with an increased prevalence of trauma-informed practices, the path to civil justice, by its very nature, can cause distress to survivors. There are steps, such as recounting details of abuse, which cannot be avoided. However, delays in accessing records to which a clear right of timeous access exists are not unavoidable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The increased volume of record requests is framed by the local authorities as a mitigation for the delays, but there is another side to this. The nature of the requests relating to historic care records clearly demonstrates the importance of the right to access personal information without undue delay. Not every breach of the statutory time limit to respond to a SAR is going to cause harm, but often, harm will be foreseeable. Rarely will an individual make a SAR out of curiosity alone – the information will usually be required for any number of personal and important purposes. Here, the purpose of the SARs and the potential consequences of a delayed response are very clear. An ICO reprimand is a serious acknowledgement that a local authority has failed in its obligations. In this situation, as well as highlighting the technical breach, it also reflects the effect on the individuals left waiting many months for the information they need to access justice.
