THIS is not the first time in recent months that I have written about Glasgow Life in these pages. But I make no apology for revisiting it, after the future of facilities right across Glasgow has been thrown into doubt.

Whiteinch Library is earmarked for closure, with the facilities to be moved across an expressway and a park and into a completely different ward. Also threatened are lawn bowls in Drumchapel, community centres in Drumchapel and Netherton, and Knightswood’s pitch and putt course, which all remain on a list of facilities with no date given for their re-opening.

Some of these are described as “earmarked for community management”, through a programme which was launched just a few months ago – and council officials admit they have had no time to scrutinise and assess how suitable they are for any such community applications.

However, I want to be crystal clear: the fault does not lie with Glasgow Life but with Glasgow’s SNP minority administration. Glasgow Life is given a budget and asked to manage venues and facilities on the council’s behalf. It does not have enough money to guarantee that every venue and facility can re-open when it is safe, and that is the fault of the council administration and the Scottish Government.

These venues are so vital to the life of our communities. We’ve just come through a global pandemic which has had an enormous impact on people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing, claimed the jobs and financial security of so many families, and underlined the importance of community and facing our challenges together.

And yet it would seem that the Scottish Government and the administration at Glasgow City Council are unable to guarantee the future of these crucial facilities. Sports centres and gyms, like the sports centre at Yoker, which it has been announced will shut down, and libraries which provide access to computers and wi-fi and offer support for people claiming benefits, are under threat. Even the community centres where we’d normally meet friends and neighbours are in peril.

This is reckless. And it is the direct consequence of a decade of cuts to Glasgow’s budget by politicians in Edinburgh. Enough is enough. The Scottish Government and the minority administration on Glasgow City Council must stump up the cash to save these venues and facilities. No excuses will be accepted.

Everyone knows the importance and value of these cherished facilities. Communities are beginning to stand up and fight against these cuts, and as a local councillor I will stand with them.

Because Glasgow deserves so much better.