A new report published today has highlighted that while each of these challenges are significant, the council must deal with them concurrently while delivering services for local people.

The council has been urged to show sustained leadership from councillors and officers, together with local and national partners, as they tackle all these challenges, including homelessness. Glasgow’s spending on homelessness rose from £38 million last year to an expected £56m in 2026/27.

The council also faces a budget gap of at least £110 million between 2026/27 and 2027/28. Greater transparency and clarity about the scale of the financial challenges facing the council is needed to inform the choices available to councillors, and the impacts on communities and services, the report added. 

Now the Accounts Commission has said the council must ensure it has the capacity and skills to address these challenges, whilst managing complex, high-risk programmes, including implementing a new finance system. Delivering the new pay and grading structure by April 2027 is critical; achieving this must be a collective responsibility for officers, councillors and trade union representatives.  

 Andrew Burns, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “There is no doubt about the scale and complexity of the challenges that Glasgow City Council faces, particularly equal pay and homelessness. The council is at a challenging point; decisions made over the coming months will have a significant bearing on financial sustainability and on the services that communities receive in future.  

“We need to see leadership, responsibility and robust oversight by councillors. The council must also prioritise its medium-term financial planning, setting out the choices the council needs to make to live within its means. There must be clear plans to redesign services, the resources needed, costs and savings and the impact on communities and budgets. These are vital to ensure the council and its services are sustainable for the future.”