There have been over a million complaints to Scottish councils about cleanliness services in the last five years, new statistics show.
Freedom of Information requests to all councils from the Scottish Conservatives revealed the “staggering” number of complaints about issues such as overflowing bins, missed bin collections, dog fouling, graffiti, fly tipping and other cleanliness problems.
The Scottish Conservatives said the figures showed the “damage done by SNP cuts to Scottish councils” and confirmed that “the state of Scotland’s streets is declining”.
The number of complaints hit 221,753 in 2023-24.
That was 15,000 more complaints, or 8 per cent, more than in 2019-20.
The council with the most complaints was Glasgow, followed by Edinburgh.
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for finance and local government Craig Hoy said: “This is a staggering number of complaints from the public over the state of council-run services.
“The failure to keep our communities clean is not just unsightly but also a serious health hazard.
“This is a direct consequence of the damage done by SNP cuts to Scottish councils over the last 17 years.
“The state of Scotland’s streets is declining as bins lie uncollected and graffiti and other vandalism simply is not cleaned up.
“The SNP’s neglect and cuts mean councils have been left with no option but to axe or slash our most basic services.
“Taxpayers just want politicians to show some common sense for a change and focus on the day-to-day issues.”
Notes:
Since 2019-20 1,164,998 ‘environmental related complaints’ have been registered. There were 221,753 complaints in 2023-24, up 8% on the 205,278 recorded in 2019-20. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 29 October 2024, Available on Request).
Glasgow registered the most complaints, with 432,339. Edinburgh recorded the second most with 359,000, with North Lanarkshire recording 102,243. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 29 October 2024, Available on Request).
Responses were collated from 30 councils. East Lothian and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar councils did not provide data. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 29 October 2024, Available on Request).
Examples of environmental related complaints could include, but are not limited to overflowing bins, missed bin collections, dog fouling, litter, graffiti, fly tipping, air quality, odour etc. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 29 October 2024, Available on Request).