Glasgow Councillors and Public Money


Elected councillors in Scotland are required to maintain an up-to-date Register of Interests (RoI) which is intended to keep local government honest, open and transparent.

But the quality and amount of information placed on  council registers varies enormously.

For example, here are the entries for one of Glasgow's newly elected Green councillors, Cllr Holly Bruce.

Strangely, the register does not record Cllr Bruce's £19,571 council salary for her part-time (24 hours per week) job as a backbench Glasgow councillor.

The register does record Cllr Bruce's shareholding of 2,500 shares with Brewdog PLC, but not their current value which stands at around £62,500 apparently.

The register also records Cllr Bruce's second job with Glasgow list MSP Patrick Harvie, but does not explain the time commitment Cllr Bruce is required to spend as Patrick Harvie's Regional Support Officer or salary (full or part-time) for this post.

Now this information is important because both jobs are paid from public funds.

So if the hours worked and salary paid are being kept secret, how can the public tell whether or not the public purse is getting value for money?


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