PARKS and projects to tackle poverty have been prioritised – but pensioners lose out, after the SNP and Greens struck a deal to pass Glasgow’s budget.

Councillors from both parties agreed to freeze council tax, put £1.5million into improving city parks and use £2m to respond to the “emerging needs” of citizens post-pandemic.

However, they have scrapped a £100 payment, which helps over 80s to heat their homes, to save £1.28m.

That move was slammed by opposition councillors, who say the budget marks another year of cuts.

Glasgow Life’s service fee will also be reduced by almost £5m after a new operating model for the charity was revealed earlier this week.

Savings totalling £7.45m have been agreed by the council, with an extra £1.55m taken from reserves and £3.2m redirected from other funds to cover a £5.9m spending gap and some investment plans.

City Treasurer Ricky Bell, presenting his first budget from his spare room, said his proposals address “inequality in our city and recognise the difficulties our citizens faced over the last year”.

He said £1.36billion from the Scottish Government was the “best settlement we have received in over a decade” and had cut the council’s shortfall from an estimated £36m.

Mr Bell announced £250,000 for a pilot project in partnership with One Parent Families Scotland to help “some of our most disadvantaged families”.

There will also be £1m invested in Whitehill Pool and £700,000 to help make back courts and lanes “safer, cleaner and greener”.

A further £765,000 will be used on a children’s outdoor play area fund.

The £2m Covid-19 recovery fund will support financial inclusion, give access to healthy food, and respond to the need of communities as they emerge.

Mr Bell said his budget looked to build on COP26, a “generational” opportunity for Glasgow, which will be held in the city in November.

“COP cannot just be about targets and policy,” he said. “It’s relevant to everyday life here in Glasgow.”

The parks fund will “give local people a say in how funds in their local area are spent”, he added.

Greens councillor Jon Molyneux had agreed the budget deal with Mr Bell.

“The pandemic has exposed and widened social and economic inequality,” he said, adding his group’s amendment secured £2m for “tackling poverty arising from the pandemic”.

He said his party had also secured an agreement for the money taken from Glasgow Life to be restored in full by January 2023.

A £100m “safety net” for the charity, which runs community, cultural and sporting venues, was recently announced, which will allow more local facilities to reopen.

Depute council leader David McDonald said: “It will help to regrow our cultural and creative economy.”

Labour leader Malcolm Cunning said the budget must be considered in the context of “at least 10 years of continuous cuts to Glasgow by the SNP Scottish Government”.

He claimed this had “effectively robbed £300m from the budget of Glasgow” and accused the SNP administration of “managing decline” rather than trying to improve services.

Mr Cunning said. “The inboxes of every single councillor make it clear that our city is going into decline and that the state of the city is becoming a disgrace.”

His party proposed putting £2m per year for three years into a “cleaner, greener Glasgow” employability scheme, creating 430 jobs and “putting boots on the ground” to tackle issues.

Labour also wanted to spend £580,000 on increasing the school clothing grant – raising it from £110 to £130.

Mr Cunning said his group’s budget would “create jobs, put money in people’s pockets and improve the environment”.

Glasgow Tories’ budget would have restored fortnightly bin collections, scrapped bulk uplift charges, and put £2m into improving roads.

Cllr David Meikle said: “It is an unashamedly clean up Glasgow budget.

“The city’s roads are in a serious state of disrepair and urgently require extra cash.”

But his party planned to shut two community facilities – the Ashgill Recreation Centre and the Maryhill Hub.

Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary Kate Forbes offered council’s the equivalent of a 3% rise if they froze council tax.

The budget deal also allocates money for action on empty homes, which have increased during the pandemic.

A funeral fund to help low-income families with bereavement costs will get £100,000 – a move backed by all parties.