Glasgow to be first council in Scotland to give free school meals to all primary children

Council tax in Glasgow is set to rise by 5.9% from April.

The city’s SNP and Green groups have agreed a deal to pass a budget ahead of a Glasgow City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 24.

With the city facing an estimated £56m homelessness bill in 2026/27, the council also intends to borrow money to cover a £36.8m spending gap.

The move has been proposed after the Scottish Government allowed the use of a capital grant to pay the cost of borrowing.

As part of the budget deal, Glasgow will become the first council in Scotland to have universal free school meals for all primary-aged children.

The Greens said the council would also become the first to begin work in implementing rent controls, adding the deal responds to the city’s housing emergency.

It doubles the council tax premium on homes that are left sitting empty and includes action to improve Glasgow’s tenements, they said.

It also maintains the best childcare offer in Scotland, the Greens added, with access to funded childcare hours immediately following a child’s third birthday.

An extra £5.5m will also be provided to social work services, managed by the integration joint board (IJB), which faces a difficult budget next month.

On the plan for the homelessness bill, the Greens said the Scottish Government will put up half the cost of borrowing needed to cover the gap. They had previously labelled the proposal a “sticking plaster approach”.

Glasgow declared a housing emergency in late 2023 due to rising pressure on homelessness services, which the council said had been exacerbated by Home Office plans to speed up the processing of asylum claims.

Costs have soared due to high demand for accommodation, with around £4.5m per month spent on unsuitable B&Bs or hotels. Around half of the demand for homelessness assistance is from refugees.

Cllr Jon Molyneux, Glasgow Greens co-leader, said: “The background to this budget was soaring homelessness costs and it’s vital that this is now being recognised as a national priority thanks to Green pressure.

“It’s clear though this needs more than a one year fix and both national governments must work with us on this.

“The budget deal agreed by Green councillors uses the powers we do have locally to respond to our city’s biggest challenges — child poverty and the housing crisis.”

He added: “That includes starting work on rent controls to protect Glasgow’s tenants and doubling the penalty charges on those who leave homes sitting empty or hardly used.

“We will also make Glasgow the first area in Scotland to deliver free school meals for every primary-aged child, and we’ll guarantee the best childcare offer in Scotland.

“An extra £5.5m for the health and social care partnership will also protect services for the most vulnerable. These have been red lines in our negotiations and we’re pleased to have delivered them whilst keeping council tax increases to a minimum.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have reached a deal which invests in Glasgow’s priorities and protects frontline services.

“It’s clear that the pressures relating to homelessness aren’t going away anytime soon, and while we have a one-year solution, we need the UK Government to come to the table.

“We hope that their Labour colleagues in the city will put pressure on them to do so.”

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, added: “Glasgow’s Green councillors have worked hard to protect services in Glasgow, in extremely difficult circumstances.

“Keir Starmer’s government has made incredibly harmful decisions which have increased homelessness and left our city council having to foot the bill.

“We’ve pressured the SNP Scottish Government to give councils the power and money they need, but the truth is what they’ve offered is a half measure.

“If Glasgow — and every other council in Scotland — is going to be able to protect local services in the years ahead, they urgently need more powers from Holyrood, and Green MSPs will be relentless in working to achieve that.”

On Monday, city treasurer, Cllr Ricky Bell, SNP, said he wanted to keep any council tax rise below a 6% “ceiling”.

He added: “We are very, very conscious that everybody is in a cost of living crisis. Even people that are working full time, some folk are doing two or three jobs and still finding it difficult to make ends meet.”

Glasgow Labour has said it will present a budget that ensures council tax does not rise above inflation (3%) and called on the SNP and Greens to do the same.