Budget questions

SNP group business manager David McDonald believes not enough has been spent on fixing the city’s roads and some of the area’s most vulnerable have not been protected.

The Pollok councillor commented: “The budget meeting was an opportunity for Labour to put right some of the terrible wrongs they have committed since the council elections last May.”

Conservative councillor David Meikle supported some parts of Glasgow city council’s budget — such as increased spending on road — but has called for more transparency in the procedure.

The Pollokshields representative said: “The whole process needs to be more open just as we need to be when it comes to publishing greater information about what the council spends our money on.”

Meanwhile, in East Renfrewshire, the Conservatives had their budget amendment rejected at the council’s budget meeting on Thursday.

Opposition leader Gordon Wallace explained: “We presented a balanced budget amendment designed to lay the necessary foundations on which to build enterprise and resilience throughout the authority in readiness for the opportunities that will inevitably arise post-recession.”

Among the groups amendments, they called for a one million pound regeneration fund specifically to stimulate local business through “next step” business hub initiatives.