Latest news with #OperationalPerformanceandDeliveryScrutinyCommittee
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow recycling rates are among lowest in Scotland
Only 27.2 per cent of Glasgow's household waste is recycled, making it the third lowest rate of recycling across all Scottish councils while the average rate of recycling for Scotland is 43.5 per cent. The report also advised that the net cost of street cleaning per 1000 is £25.41 per person, with an increase of £5.75 per person since 2022 to 2023 making it the second highest figure in Scotland compared to Edinburgh. The net cost per waste disposal per premise in Glasgow sits at £125.78 which is £21.40 higher than the Scottish average figure while street cleanliness scores were lower than the national average of 92 per cent with Glasgow scoring 86.5 per cent. During the Operational Performance and Delivery Scrutiny Committee Bailie Soryia Siddique said: 'Glasgow is performing relatively poorly on quite a few accounts including net cost of street cleaning, rate of recycling and net cost of waste disposal but there is no explanation on that. 'I just wondered if one of the officers could provide that information.' A council officer advised that it was difficult to compare Glasgow to any other local authority except Edinburgh. They said: 'A city like Glasgow has significant footfall and the city centre has a number of large scale events. He pointed out the operation of a boat to clean the Clyde represents costs that other local bodies don't have. He said: 'Over the next couple of years there will be significant investment going into this area to try and improve the cleanliness of the streets and the performance of the streets. 'That will have an increase on the overall cost of street cleansing. 'In terms of the recycling rate, recycling has stagnated for a number of years. We have seen slight improvement year on year but it has stayed at the 20 per cent mark. 'We are going through a significant period of transformation of waste, which will bring a brand new recycling service to every house across the city.'
Glasgow Times
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow Easter school holidays could be moved in 2027
Children in the city normally get a fortnight off in early April but there are plans to shift the spring break to March. Glasgow's education boss Douglas Hutchison said the council is considering moving the spring break that year as Easter is particularly early and there are plans for a consultation. Easter is due to fall on Sunday, March 28 in 2027. Speaking at a recent council meeting, Mr Hutchison said: 'We are out to consultation at the moment on shifting the holidays in 2027 because Easter is particularly early. It looks like we would have a long weekend for Easter, four days back and then a fortnight holiday.' READ MORE: 'S**T show': Fans fume as 'ticket links don't work' for 'must-see' show in Glasgow The director of education at Glasgow City Council added: ' I can't imagine the schools would be packed during those four days so we are out to consultation on not fixing the holiday for the first fortnight in April but bringing it to be in line with the Easter weekend and take that fortnight.' This year the Easter spring break at schools ran from April 7 to 21. And next year it will take place between April 6 and April 17. Mr Hutchison was responding to a question at the Operational Performance and Delivery Scrutiny Committee last week over school absence figures. Councillor Eunis Jassemi Labour raised the issue of over 40 per cent of P4 classes and more than half of P7 classes recording attendance of below 90 per cent. He asked why there isn't stage specific attendance improvement key performance indicators (KPIs) reported given the correlation between attainment and attendance. READ MORE: Ministers recommended to allow Flamingo Land's £40m Loch Lomond resort appeal He queried how the council is tracking the success of its campaign Attendance Matters Every Day, which aims to address school absences levels. Mr Hutchison said it is 'too early to say' about the attendance campaign, which launched recently but a paper would be brought to committee in the future. He said the council is largely in line with the Scottish Government approach to KPIs. He said there is a 'strong focus' on attendance in schools in Glasgow but the area needs to get back to pre-pandemic levels. He said: 'It is impressive how creative schools are being to ensure we get attendance back to pre-pandemic levels. It is not unique to Glasgow. It is a Scottish, UK and worldwide issue post pandemic.'
