THE DECISION to axe a garden maintenance service for the elderly and vulnerable in Glasgow for the rest of the year has been blasted as “heartless”.

Council chiefs have decided to suspend the Assisted Garden Maintenance service for the remainder of 2021 after it was paused last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

It means that those over the age of 70 and those who are housebound will no longer receive visits from council teams who help them to look after their gardens. 

Glasgow Times:

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A charity volunteer said one of the housebound people he was helping would benefit greatly from having her garden tidied up.

The volunteer - who wanted to keep his anonymity to prevent the person in question from being identified - said he had been trying to persuade the council to restore her previous maintenance service for more than six months.

He said: “Like so many others this person’s mental and physical wellbeing would be boosted by having her garden tidied up so she can enjoy being outside. 

“The council’s policy means such people will remain cooped up in their own home even after pandemic restrictions are eased further.  

“It beggars belief that the council administration seems determined to continue imposing this heartless cut for the rest of 2021. It will mean a service which has benefited so many people will have been withdrawn for almost two years.”

Glasgow Times:

Conservative councillor Euan Blockley described the move as a “cost-cutting exercise” by Glasgow City Council. 

He said: “After contacting the service on behalf of a local constituent last year, it was disappointing but understandable given the circumstances that Assisted Garden Maintenance provision was to be suspended for the year 2020.

“But 12 months on, I was deeply unsatisfied to learn that the service will continue to be unavailable to elderly Glasgow residents for the rest of the year 2021.

“Considering the fantastic progress being made in the vaccine roll out and plans to further ease restrictions over the course of the coming weeks and months, I am unclear what justification there is for continuing an indefinite suspension of such a crucial council service.

“If this is just a cost-cutting exercise as a result of the administration’s refusal to adequately resource our frontline services then Glasgow residents will rightly be asking how long they have to wait until they start getting some value for money for the taxes they pay to this SNP council.”

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The service allows recipients to receive up to seven grass cuts and two hedge trims per year. 

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “A garden maintenance service has always been in addition to the standard services provided by the council.

“Many other councils have either scrapped their garden maintenance service or often charge householders an annual fee for the gardening work undertaken.

“In 2018 a review of the service by Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership led to funding being withdrawn and it was concluded that supporting gardening work was not a core health and social care service.

“Efforts to identify a sustainable, alternative source of finance proved to be unsuccessful and with the city entering the covid lockdown last year, a decision to suspend the service was taken.

“The council continues to experience significant financial challenges and no budget has since been identified for this additional gardening service.

“At this stage we have no plans to resume this particular service, but we are currently looking at other options where assistance could be offered to those who have no recourse to any other kind of gardening support."