A new agreement between Glasgow LGBTI third sector organisations and the city council aims to ensure Glasgow is an equality trailblazer
Glasgow could be on the brink of winning the title of best city in Europe for the LGBTI+ community.
Council chiefs are working with the newly established Glasgow LGBTI+ Voluntary Sector Network to deliver a manifesto for the city with a committment to make Glasgow the best place in Europe for LGBTI+ people. It expects to see a permanent Pride House and better funding for voluntary organisations.
Equality organisations have been working with Glasgow Equality Forum to assess the services which are currently available and compare that with the needs of the community.
A report, Meeting the Needs of the LGBTI+ Community in Glasgow, highlights a number of key strengths in the city, including a strong cultural and arts sector that includes playing host to the world renowned Scottish Queer International Film Festival.
The report also points to significant gaps in provision though, especially in services for women and girls, transgender people, BME people, disabled people and asylum seekers and refugees arriving in the city.
Charities believe promises from Glasgow City Council have been broken over the years and a severe lack of funding is hampering what they can do.
The report concludes that “lifeline services for particularly vulnerable sections of the LGBTI+ community rely in large part on precarious funding” and calls upon public sector organisations to rectify this.
Fergus McMillan, chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland, said: “LGBT Youth Scotland is pleased to have played a role in this report and delighted to see it launched today. Given our commitment to young LGBT people across Glasgow, we welcome the opportunity to engage with the council around support for this. We look forward to their response.”
Councillor Jen Layden said: "Since being appointed as the first ever City Convener for Equalities and Human Rights in the new city government in May, I have been working closely with GEF and LGBTI+ organisations to identify ways in which we can better support Glasgow's LGBTI+ community. I therefore welcome this report and the recommendations within it.
"The report is clear that it feels that in the past the council has not always delivered what it says it will, and I know that it will take time to rebuild that trust and move forward with a constructive relationship between all the key organisations in the city providing this invaluable work.
“The new city government is committed to working with partners to develop a long term, sustainable strategy for supporting our LGBTI+ citizens as well as looking at ways to best fill the gaps that exist in current provision, and eliminating the inequalities that the report highlights."
Glasgow City Council has vowed to take action and says it will now form a working group to develop a Glasgow LGBTI+ strategy, in partnership with voluntary organisations.
