IT’S that time of year again. This morning, councillors will gather for the annual exercise of setting Glasgow’s Budget and our priorities for your services over the coming year.

We are still not allowed back into the impressive, if rather sombre, Council Chamber, and the meeting will be held virtually, via computer screens, from councillors’ kitchen tables or spare bedrooms.

At the start of the year, we were facing cuts to local government across Scotland of £371 million and a shortfall in Glasgow alone of roughly £39m. This was met with universal horror across local government and the entire political spectrum. The Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes, then announced she had found some unspent UK monies made available to the Scottish Government down the back of a metaphorical couch. A one-off additional payment of £120m was made available, of which around £14m would come to Glasgow.

That leaves Glasgow having to grapple with an effective cut to our budget of £25m. Some cuts which were agreed last year do not come into effect until this year. These amount to £5m which means that we are now looking for new savings or alternatives sources of income just short of £20m.

But let’s be clear: these savings are still cuts. The money saved could be reinvested back into delivering high quality services, but it won’t be. Because of the decisions made by SNP politicians in Edinburgh.

Over the past 10 years, Glasgow has had to make savings significantly in excess of £300m. Education and social work have been mostly protected so the majority of these cuts have been made in areas like cleansing, roads maintenance, parks, Glasgow Life and other basic services.

The cumulative effect of all these cuts is only too obvious across the city.

The SNP’s Budget will, once again, be an exercise in spin and sophistry. SNP politicians will, no doubt, stand up and claim that they are empowering communities. In reality, they will be creating insufficient funds to deliver what should be core service delivery – and asking communities to choose between a rock and a hard place.

No doubt we will hear the “cost-of-living crisis” mentioned repeatedly. But the SNP’s proposed solutions run out next year – when we know the crisis demands long-term solutions from us. But the SNP’s proposals to increase the cost of school lunches and, most shockingly, increase the cost of bereavement charges will be permanent.

And despite months and months of denials from the leader of the council, the SNP have finally admitted that they’ve created a cleansing crisis in our city. And that the cleansing crisis is city-wide. Despite denying the reality on the ground, the SNP are now asking you to trust them to clean it up.

Where the SNP Budget falls short on substance, the Labour Group’s Budget proposals meet the needs of our communities.

Ours is a Budget that puts money into people’s pockets, by ensuring the Affordable Warmth Payment is reinstated, in full, permanently. And one that scraps the bulk uplift charge in full.

Ours is a Budget that will build a cleaner, greener Glasgow, with a £6m investment to help more than 400 people back into permanent work, with new skills and qualifications. And in the process, we would clean up your local area. And Labour’s Budget is one that will guarantee that every single community centre in Glasgow will re-open as soon as possible. In short: Labour’s Budget is one that delivers for the people of Glasgow.