OFFICIAL STATS EXPOSE PURCELL’S SCAREMONGERING ON GLASGOW FUNDING.

OFFICIAL STATS EXPOSE PURCELL’S SCAREMONGERING ON GLASGOW FUNDING.

GLASGOW BEST FUNDED MAINLAND COUNCIL PER HEAD UNDER SNP GOVERNMENT,

A Parliamentary Answer received by Glasgow SNP MSP has exposed as false the claims by Steven Purcell that the Scottish Government is under funding Glasgow as the figures show the city enjoys the most spending per head of any mainland local authority in Scotland.

The figures show that Glasgow receives £2871 per head - £617 or 27% more than the Scottish average of £2254. This is also £686 (31%) more than Renfrewshire, £691 (32%) more than North Lanarkshire, and £803 (39%) more than South Lanarkshire.

Commenting on the day Mr Purcell gave evidence to a Scottish Parliament Committee, Mr Doris said:

"This is irrefutable evidence that the SNP Government is committed to Glasgow and an embarrassment to Steven Purcell.

“It totally exposes his ill informed scaremongering and begs the question of why he is closing schools and refusing to recruit teachers?

“It is simple hypocrisy to mislead the people of Glasgow whilst the city enjoys the best funding per head of any mainland Scottish council yet fails to employ more teachers whilst closing schools.

“Steven Purcell knows full well that it is his party’s government in London – the Labour government – which is cutting Scottish spending by £500 million. That meant hard choices had to be made and with the costs of GARL escalating cancelling the project was the only option before it became another trams fiasco like we have seen in Edinburgh.

“Yet despite those London Labour cuts the SNP Government is delivering in Glasgow - the M74, the new Southern General Hospital, the National Indoor Sports Arena and all the Commonwealth Games facilities, and new colleges.

“In contrast all Steven Purcell is offering to do is to fail to employ teachers and close communities’ schools. That is the real dagger in the heart of Glasgow.”