The amount that Glasgow spends on street cleaning has soared by more than one-third despite new figures showing the city is getting even dirtier.
A report brought before the city council confirmed that, in 2017/18, the local authority spent £36,496 per 1,000 people – up from £26,820 in 2016/17.
Across the country as a whole, the 2017/18 figure was £15,452.
The spending increase in Scotland’s biggest city comes as a new evaluation for street cleanliness has revealed its scores are falling.
In 2016/17 Glasgow recorded 90 points, but only 87 in 2017/18.
Scotland scored 93 and 92 points in 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively.
The figures have sparked alarm among councillors.
Councillor Aileen McKenzie said: “It’s understandable a local authority the size of Glasgow would spend more net on street cleaning than the rest of Scotland.
“What is not understandable and is quite worrying, is the massive spike upwards in spending on street cleaning from 2017 onwards.
“The street cleanliness in that same period [in Glasgow] has dropped dramatically from 90 to 87, whilst the rest of Scotland is sitting at 92 [points].”
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A city council spokeswoman said: “Everyone has a role to play in ensuring Glasgow looks its best. Cleansing staff work hard every day to keep our streets clean, but unfortunately, it can be an uphill battle, as some thoughtless people continue to treat our environment with disdain – littering and flytipping indiscriminately.
“If people didn’t commit this type of antisocial behaviour we wouldn’t have to spend so much public money cleaning up after them.”
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