Helensburgh and Lomond councillors hit out at governments

Sir,

I am deeply concerned about the implications of Labour’s plan to charge VAT on independent school fees and what it could mean for education locally here in Helensburgh and Lomond.

I must challenge Jackie Baillie’s assertion that the Labour Party are only doing this because of the financial position they inherited on entering government last month.

I believe people living locally here would rather their local MSP explained the reasoning behind this policy and its potential impact, rather than simply looking to point the blame elsewhere.

This is a political choice and it worries me that the Labour Party have not fully thought it through.

If they won’t listen to me as an opposition councillor, perhaps they will listen to Jonathan Hewat, the Registrar at Lomond School who has slammed the policy.

He has described Labour as being ‘green-eyed’ as well the party showing ‘spineless idiocy’ which he says will force Lomond into spending time and resources on new hard marketing tactics, if they want to stay open.

The closure of schools such as Lomond would put huge pressure on our local state schools which are already bursting at the seams due to years of SNP cuts.

If the Labour Party are going to remain wedded to this policy, then our local MSP and her party are going to have to own it, and its potential consequences.

Cllr Maurice Corry (Conservative, Lomond North)

Dear Councillor Jim Lynch,

I am writing to express significant concerns regarding the excessive cost overruns associated with the October 2023 weather recovery efforts, which have escalated alarmingly to £3.853 million.

This substantial increase highlights severe lapses in financial oversight and project management under the current council administration.

Regrettably, the leadership tasked with overseeing these efforts was determined through a process as arbitrary as drawing cards, which lacks the strategic and experienced decision- making required for sound governance. This has led to a worrying trend of escalating costs without sufficient checks or balances.

Moreover, the restrictive measures imposed by the flawed Belwin Scheme have only compounded these issues, embedding our operations in a bureaucratic quagmire that delays actions and unnecessarily inflates costs. The administration's passive approach in dealing with these regulations is unacceptable and requires urgent revision.

It is pertinent to note that the TALIG opposition group, of which I am a part, was compelled to step in and offer solutions to mitigate this financial crisis-solutions which the administration has since adopted. This not only illustrates a concerning dependency on external input for resolution but also highlights a lack of proactive leadership within the council itself.

Our residents deserve a council that exemplifies fiscal responsibility and effective resource management. We must confront these issues decisively rather than continue with the current inefficient practices.

I urge you, as the leader of Argyll and Bute Council, to advocate for a comprehensive review of our current procedures and the implementation of more rigorous controls to prevent such financial mismanagement in the future.

Our community expects and is entitled to a council that upholds the highest standards of fiscal stewardship and governance.

I appreciate your attention to this critical issue and look forward to your prompt response outlining a clear and actionable plan to stop costs further escalating in the future.

Councillor Alastair Redman (Independent, Kintyre and the Islands)