Hundreds of jobs in Glasgow at risk as workers given 90-day redundancy notice

HUNDREDS of jobs in Glasgow are understood to be at risk after workers were given 90-day redundancy notices following “devastating” funding cuts.

It comes after Labour introduced the new Local Growth Fund (LGF) on Thursday.

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Hundreds of jobs across Glasgow are currently at riskCredit: Getty

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander announced Labour’s Local Growth FundCredit: Getty

This replaced the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) – introduced by the Tories after Brexit to replace EU funds, The Herald reports.

And it provided local authorities funding for communities, places, businesses, people and skills.

But this is due to end on March 31, and replaced with the Local Growth Fund.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander announced last Thursday that the UK Government would invest £140million in five Scottish regions to support economic growth.

Edinburgh will receive £37.8million, Tay Cities £19.5million, Ayrshire £11.8million and Forth Valley £9.8million.

The Glasgow City Region is made up of eight councils Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire.

The region will receive £60.9million over three years.

But this is around a third less compared to the £91million it received through UKSPF over the previous three-year period.

And only around 30 per cent of the funding can be spent on revenue, which includes the day-to-day funding used to pay staff and deliver services.

An assessment by the Industrial Communities Alliance (ICA) states that there will be “major knock-on consequences for jobs” in the third sector.

The report added: “Based on data for a sample of local authorities, the ICA National Secretariat estimates that on average every £1m of UKSPF spending directly supports seven jobs in local authorities plus additional jobs in Third Sector organisations delivering UKSPF-funded services.

“On that basis: Around 530 jobs in Scottish local authorities are presently directly supported by UKSPF funding.

“The 50 per cent reduction in funding for Scotland’s Local Growth Fund by 2028-29 and the shift to capital spending puts more than half these jobs at risk, beginning in April this year.”

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken has already written to Douglas Alexander.

Ms Aitken warned that there are “devastating cuts coming” unless the UK Government “intends to provide replacement revenue funding”.

She added: “The delay in the announcement means that we are already into the 90-day notice period for staff who are employed in organisations currently funded through SPF and now facing a massive cut.”

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken warned there are “devastating” cuts comingCredit: Getty

The Glasgow City Region will receive £60.9million over three yearsCredit: Alamy

A Scottish Labour spokesperson told The Herald: “The blame for Scotland’s local government funding crises lies firmly at the SNP-led Scottish Government’s door.

“Susan Aitken should be asking John Swinney why the SNP-led Scottish Government has over decades centralised powers while cutting funding levels for Scottish local government.

“It is simply wrong to suggest that the UK Government is cutting funding for the Glasgow City Region.

“Taken together our package of four new local growth programmes will invest up to £103m in Glasgow City Region over the next three years, this is up to £15m more than under the UKSPF levels in 2025/26.

“On top of this the UK Government is also investing hundreds of millions into the region through the Investment Zone, local regeneration, and innovation partnership programmes.

“Thanks to increased direct funding for local authorities in England the Scottish Government will receive an additional £163m over the next three years. Yet since 2013 the SNP have made £7.8 billion of cuts to core local government funding. The question for the First Minister is ‘Where’s the money gone John?’”