Glasgow City Council pulled the plug on £7k trip to New York

We previously reported last week that councillors were being asked to approve the trip for the Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren and Deputy Leader Richard Bell of the council for Scotland Week.

The visit was to promote Glasgow at various events, connect with the Glasgow diaspora and highlight the upcoming 850th anniversary of the city celebrations.

It was set to take place between April 4 and April 7, at a cost of £1,700 per person for the Lord Provost, Deputy Leader and two officials.

Now, it has been revealed that the local authority, which is making cuts to services and jobs, will no longer send the group to the American city.

It comes after the council also revealed recently they are facing more than £100million in budget cuts over the next three years.

The trip was set to be discussed at the council City Administration committee today, however, the committee paper was withdrawn and the visit will not go ahead now.

Lord Provost (Image: Newsquest)

Green Councillor Jon Molyneux welcomed the decision to cancel the planned trip.

He said: “This is the right decision.

"Given that the council has just passed a budget which requires very significant savings to be made, it would not have been appropriate to pay for this trip with funds which could otherwise be used to support public services.

“We recognise that promoting Glasgow globally is important and we hope that Cllr Bell and the Lord Provost will provide a briefing for those city partners who are travelling to New York on how they can support the council’s aims, and we would also encourage them to join Scotland Week events virtually where that is possible.”

Meanwhile, Chris Mitchell, a GMB trade union convenor at the council said: “Never mind flying to another country, the councillors and officials must be on another planet if they think this is the right time for a junket.

“At a time when vital frontline services are already on their knees and facing unprecedented cuts, every councillor and every official should be working to protect those services not flying around the world all expenses paid.”

Glasgow Labour group leader George Redmond said: “At a time when the SNP and Greens voted shoulder to shoulder to cut 450 teaching posts and slashed support for both the Developing the Young Workforce and MCR Pathways Programmes, it would have been a slap in the face to Glasgow’s teachers and young people if the council approved funding for treasurer Richard Bell, the key architect behind the cuts, to embark on a New York City jaunt.

“I’m delighted that pressure from trade unions, the Glasgow Labour group, and Glaswegians across the city have forced the SNP to back down.

“They should focus on the day-to-day matters.”