A Glasgow MSP slammed the council’s ability to deal with the city’s rat problem.

In the last five years, Glasgow City Council has received almost 14,000 complaints about rat infestations – with May recording the highest number of calls in the last three.

MSP Johann Lamont has called on the First Minister to stop cuts to Glasgow and ‘give staff the resources needed to do their jobs’ after information obtained by an FOI request revealed cuts have left the city unable to deal with the problem.

The information revealed the council are not meeting the recommended timescales for the city’s outdoor rat jobs.

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Pest control should revisit a scene within seven to 10 days of initial treatment, to determine what further action should take place.

For outdoor jobs, the council revealed follow up visits are prioritised due to demand, and some homes affected by rat infestation could be looking at a 28-day wait for a follow up visit.

“This shocking information tells us the rat infestation in Glasgow is critical,” said Johann Lamont. “The ability of frontline staff to properly deal with the problem has been seriously undermined by the cuts to our city. The Pest Control staff deserve our support. They deserve so much better than a council leadership afraid to tell the Sturgeon government no to cuts and yes to fair funding.

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“It is entirely unacceptable that Scotland’s largest city in the 21st century cannot address properly a problem like this. It is even more unacceptable the stress and pressure this adds to the frontline staff. With staff under pressure, rat infestations getting worse, and a council leader too weak to stand up for Glasgow now is the time for action. “

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The most effective way to stifle the rat population is to cut off their sources of food.

“The current £6.5m initiative to replace 50,000 old-style steel bins across the city will have a significant impact.

“Steel bins are small and often in poor condition which can lead to the spread of litter and waste, which encourages vermin and creates health and safety issues.

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“The bin replacement programme will eventually see 80,000 new wheelie bins introduced into the city’s bin courts, which will provide much better containment of waste and lead to more effective pest control treatments.

“Initial indications are that where the bin replacement programme has been introduced so far we are already seeing significant reductions in the number of pest control calls we receive.”