Council urged to pay up over trips
PARENTS have slammed the council for “dragging out” returning cash paid towards cancelled school trips. Knightswood Primary School’s final year pupils were due to take a class trip to Lochgoilhead on March 30 but it was cancelled after the coronavirus pandemic began.
It cost around £350 per pupil, however, Glasgow City Council (GCC) has told parents the cash won’t be returned until the local authority’s insurance firms pay out.
Annmarie Monaghan, whose granddaughter was due to take part in the trip, said: “There’s no sign of the money coming back.
“A lot of people have taken out loans for these kids to go.
“It could’ve all been sorted but it’s being dragged out and I think it’ll be going on for months.”
Councillor Paul Carey approached GCC with an alternative solution – to repay families with area partnership funds while the council waits for a payout.
He said: “I am deeply disappointed that this has not happened.
“After all, these parents have paid out £350 per child and some of them have seen their incomes halved during Covid-19, so returning this money would be a great help to them.
“I am asking this administration to make it a priority to refund the money, not just to the parents in Knightswood Primary School, but to hundreds of other parents in this situation.
“If other local authorities can do it, so can Glasgow.”
As previously revealed by the Glasgow Times, around £200,000 was owed out to parents who had paid for cancelled school trips around the globe.
However, local authorities, such as Inverclyde, immediately handed over thousands to repay parents.
It is understood GCC has managed to return around £65,000 so far.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “We totally understand the frustrations of our families who are still waiting to hear about the claims our insurance section are chasing to reclaim deposits for cancelled school trips.
“We are sorry again for any inconvenience but travel companies are swamped with Covid-related cancellations and our team are doing everything in their power to resolve and speed up the claims.
“They’ve already had some positive results which is good news and parents will be kept updated via their child’s school.”