04-08-2025
Details of Glasgow city councillors foreign trips revealed
The list of excursions outside the city, approved by the chief executive under delegated functions, includes many in the UK and several foreign trips as far afield as Egypt and Japan.
The total cost between September last year and May this year was £8460, which was for 24 visits by 10 councillors.
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Susan Aitken, the leader of the council, had the most visits with six over the nine-month period.
The total cost was £967.20.
Annette Christie, chair of Glasgow Life, was away on five occasions and had the highest bill, costing £3614.99.
While Ruairi Kelly, convenor for housing and development and Allan Casey, convenor for homelessness and addictions, were at three each.
Deputy Leader and City Treasurer, Ricky Bell, was away at two conferences while the Lord Provost, Jacqueline McLaren, city centre convenor Angus Millar, and councillors Paul Leinster, Imran Alam and Thomas Kerr were on one visit each.
The highest single cost was £988 for Annette Christie to go to Strasbourg for a European Mayors Summit last October.
The lowest was £31.40 for Susan Aitken to go to Edinburgh for a Climate Delivery conference.
Other trips, which cost more than £500, include £739 for Annette Christie to attend the Eurocities SAF Conference in Amsterdam from May 13 to 16, and
£615 to travel to Bucharest in Romania, for the Eurocities Heritage Hub Forum in October.
Christie also attended the Eurocities and European Commissioners meeting in Brussels in February this year for three days, costing £526.99.
A four-day trip to Belfast for Christie to attend the Eurocities Culture Forum last September cost £733.
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Susan Aitken's visits include £648 for a two-day visit to Paris for the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth meeting.
The council leader also went to Japan for three days in April for the Global Cities Forum, with all costs met and no cost to the council.
Aitken also visited the Royal Armouries Museum and New Dock in Leeds in May, costing £200.
The council leader took three visits in Scotland, costing under £50 each, to Edinburgh and Dundee.
Ruairi Kelly has three entries for visiting Manchester for 'various development meetings' costing £190 each.
Allan Casey was a speaker at the European Harm Reduction Conference from December 2-5 last year in Warsaw, Poland, which cost £460.
He was also a speaker at the UN Habitat World Urban Forum from November 4-8 last year, in Cairo, Egypt, costing £400 with other costs covered by the organiser.
And he attended the Social Innovation Lab from September 18 to 20 last year in Torino, Italy, costing £455.
Thomas Kerr, now a Reform UK councillor, travelled to South Shields in Northumberland for a Youth Services, Safeguarding, Radicalisation & Knife Crime conference, costing £600.
Ricky Bell travelled to Brussels for the Eurocities Internal Audit Committee in March, at no cost to the council.
He also attended a LUCI urban lighting conference in London in September, costing £354.
The other trips approved were for the Lord Provost to go to Strasbourg for the Council of Europe in March at no cost to the council.
Paul Leinster attended the Eurocities Digital Forum from April 1 to 4, in Bordeaux, France, costing £410.
Angus Millar attended the Scottish Cities Alliance – Cities Week from January 19 to 21, in London at a cost of £185.
While Labour councillor, Imram Alam, attended a LUCI urban lighting Summit in London in April, costing £447.25.
The details have been revealed to the council's Operational Performance and Delivery Scrutiny Committee.
The Chief Executive of the council is authorised, in consultation with the Council Business Manager, to authorise the attendance of elected members at conferences in the UK up to a maximum of £800 and to approve international travel up to a maximum cost of £1,000 per person.
