Local Authority Environmental Services Fail to Clean Up Deprived Neighbourhoods

That the Parliament condemns local authorities who fail to clean up deprived neighbourhoods as indicated in a research study by the University of Glasgow, published recently by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation; notes that the research, which was based on a survey of 49 local authorities and detailed work in four areas, highlighted that residents in deprived neighbourhoods are getting lower standards of street cleaning and refuse collection services than residents in more affluent areas and that deprived areas have a greater range and severity of problems, particularly regarding graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and poorly maintained public spaces; further notes that, despite the greater problems faced by such neighbourhoods, local authorities are not deploying levels of services and resources which are sufficient to meet their needs; notes that responsible residents living in deprived neighbourhoods, who might previously have been motivated to take good care of their surroundings, lose heart when environmental problems remain unresolved, and considers that the Scottish Executive has a key role in ensuring that the most intensely disadvantaged local authorities have the resources they need to tackle problem neighbourhoods without jeopardising service standards elsewhere.