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Closed petition PE1912: Funding for council venues
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide the necessary additional revenue to local councils to run essential services and venues.
Previous action taken
Our efforts have been focussed on Glasgow so far. We have set up meetings with Glasgow MSPs and MPs. Several attended to understand the threat to services and jobs.
The unions have also written to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 26 July 2021 and received a response on 5 October 2021.
Meetings have also taken place with a number of Glasgow City Council councillors. In addition, a number of meetings have also been set up with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life (the organisation established by the council to run its venues and provide some of its essential services). Further meetings are taking place throughout Scottish Local Authorities to adequate fund local government to meet their duty of care to the citizens of Scotland.
Background information
The joint trades unions Unite, GMB and Unison believe that the closure of sports and cultural venues by local authorities will negatively impact on the physical and mental health of their citizens.
We recognise this as a further demonstration and direct consequence of the inadequate funding which is being allocated to local government and see this decision as a retrograde step in the drive to improve the healthy life expectancy of the citizens.
We therefore demand, as a matter of urgency, that the Scottish Government provide the necessary additional revenue to local councils to run these essential services, otherwise local people will be deprived of important venues which contribute to improved healthy life expectancy as well as social cohesion and inclusion.
This petition was considered by the Scottish Parliament
2 signatures