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Planning to ensure that the council-run cemeteries can meet the needs of communities in the future is already underway. The Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee agreed on Thursday that local residents should be asked about their personal choices and for their views ideas for ways forward, during 2020, so that a new set of cemetery policies can be proposed. According to statute, local authorities are only required to provide one cemetery per area. ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute had 65 cemeteries available for the purchase of lairs.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the educational attainment and life chances of care experienced children and young people. At a meeting of the Council’s Community Services Committee members were given an update on the progress of work to support vulnerable young people across ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is one of eight local authorities across the North and West of Scotland which are working together to ensure children and young people are given the best educational opportunities. Known as the Northern Alliance, the partnership is a Regional Improvement Collaborative (RIC) set up to secure excellence and equity in education.

Counselling services are to be made available to young people in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute, as part of the Scottish Government’s 10 year Mental Health Strategy. At a meeting of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥â€™s Community Services Committee this week, members agreed to support the initiative, which will see children as young as 10 having access to a trained counsellor.

Brendan O’Hara has been elected as the Member of Parliament for ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute in the UK general election.   Votes from the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute parliamentary constituency have been counted and the result has been declared as follows:    Rhea Louise Barnes, Scottish Labour Party – 3,248 Gary Mulvaney, Scottish Conservative and Unionist – 16,930 Brendan O’Hara, Scottish National Party (SNP) – 21,040 Alan Reid, Scottish Liberal Democrats – 6,832  

Where will you see Vanilla Ice, Gritny Spears, Captain Gritter Pants and The Grittersaurus keeping the roads free of ice and snow? In ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute – thanks to the imaginations of primary school pupils across the region. In October, the council took delivery of 17 new vehicles to join its fleet of winter maintenance vehicles. And we thought one gritter in each of our four areas should have a name. The challenge was put out to our schools and great ideas and fantastic drawings came flooding in. The winners are:

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute has aspirations to become the centre of seaweed farming excellence. A report, commissioned by ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, has set out a template for setting up and running a seaweed farming business from conception right through to selling products to consumers. Produced by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), in Oban, and funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the study highlights a major new opportunity for economic growth for ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute.

New apps now enable travellers on council-run ferries to buy tickets via their phones or other mobile devices. This extends the range of ways to pay to include cash, debit/credit cards on board the ferries or via the council website, making the service more convenient for users. Customers wishing to pay using a mobile device app should visit either Google Store (Android) or App Store (iPhone) and search for: 

Chaidh freagairt aontachadh le Comhairle Earra-Ghàidheal is Bhòid Diardaoin (28 Samhain) air co-chomhairleachadh le Riaghaltas na h-Alba air prionnsapalan cìs luchd-tadhail. Cuiridh an fhreagairt seo ri tuigse Riaghaltas na h-Alba air an eallaich a th' ann a thaobh na h-àrainneachd is bun-structair ann an cuid a sgìrean air sgàth àrdachadh àireamh an luchd-tadhail. Cuiridh i cuideachd ri leasachadh laghan a leigeadh le ùghdarrasan ionadail a' chìs a chur an sàs nam biodh sin iomchaidh.

A response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the principles of a visitor levy was agreed by ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ on Thursday (28 November). This will help the Scottish Government’s understanding of the pressures on the local environment and infrastructure felt in some areas by the increase in overnight and day visitors. It will inform development of legislation that would allow local authorities to introduce the levy if they felt it appropriate.