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Scottish Labour Blames Budget Cuts for 35% Rat Surge

12/29/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Scottish Labour reports a 35% rise in rat complaints to 19,752 last year, linked to local authority cleaning budget cuts.
Glasgow accounted for 10,840 reports, more than half of the total, and Labour ties the share to the spending decline since 2010/11.
Public finance minister Ivan McKee disputed the claims, noting councils received a record £15 billion this year and that waste funding is a local authority responsibility.

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Story summary

Scottish Labour reports a 35% rise in rat complaints to 19,752 last year, linked to local authority cleaning budget cuts.
Glasgow accounted for 10,840 reports, more than half of the total, and Labour ties the share to the spending decline since 2010/11.
Public finance minister Ivan McKee disputed the claims, noting councils received a record £15 billion this year and that waste funding is a local authority responsibility.