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Boundaries Scotland has submitted its final proposals, for councillor numbers and wards for �鶹���� and Bute, to the Scottish Parliament for agreement. You can read more on its website: 2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements | Scottish Boundary Commission (boundaries.scot)      

Child poverty in �鶹���� and Bute is slowly falling according to new Scottish Government figures. At a meeting of �鶹���� and Bute Council’s �鶹���� Services Committee, members were presented with the second annual review of �鶹���� and Bute’s Child Poverty Action Plan for 2020/21, which showed that 3,000 children and young people in �鶹���� and Bute were experiencing child poverty in 2019/20 compared with 3,056 in 2018/19.

Teachers and social work staff in �鶹���� and Bute have been undergoing training to become more trauma aware in order to help support children and young people affected by adversity and traumatic experiences. �鶹���� and Bute Council is one of just three local authorities selected by the Scottish Government to take part in the pilot trauma training �鶹����.

School attendance and exclusion rates among Care Experienced Children and Young People have fallen over the last 12 months, as a result of a number measures put into place by �鶹���� and Bute Council. The council was awarded a grant of £122,400 from the Scottish Attainment Challenge Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund 2020/21, to help increase flexible approaches to learning in schools and create a better understanding of the impact of trauma amongst staff.

�鶹���� and Bute Council proposes an extensive �鶹���� of community engagement to discuss and develop innovative ways to ensure sustainable management of rural schools. Schools in �鶹���� and Bute face a unique set of challenges, including rural settings, declining populations, and competition for resources. But the region’s schools also enjoy a unique set of advantages, being leaders in digital access, outdoor learning, and engagement with their individual school communities.

The 2020 UEFA European Championship was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The tournament is now being played from 11 June to 11 July 2021 but is still called “UEFA Euro 2020”. If, as a Premises Licence Holder within �鶹���� and Bute, you are planning to show Euro 2020 games in your premises this summer, you will no doubt, already have strong management practices in place to deal with any issues that arise.  

Please be on the lookout for blooms of potentially hazardous blue-green algae (also known as Cyanobacteria) in �鶹���� and Bute’s lochs and rivers which may have developed during the period of warm weather. Where there is evidence of this, it would be sensible to avoid swimming or other water-based activities like canoeing or water skiing. Make sure that pets don’t drink or enter the water. More information about blue-green algae.

�鶹���� and Bute Council Leader, Councillor Robin Currie, is leading the call for dog owners to be responsible and pick up after their pups, and he is asking communities to support the campaign. The council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure committee backed �鶹���� to provide posters to local communities and develop a social media campaign to remind dog owners of their responsibilities. Councillor Currie said: “Most people clean up after their dogs – we know this. However, we want to remind the one in 10 that don’t that this just isn’t acceptable.

�鶹���� and Bute Council continues its commitment to creating vibrant places to help stimulate local economic recovery.    The council is delivering £1.686 million of Town Centre funding to 28 projects across �鶹���� and Bute, with an overall value of £9 million to the local economy. Projects range from improved town centre infrastructure, grants for charitable organisations and help for business owners to improve their shopfronts.

The council is developing its plan for growing its network of electric vehicle charging points as part of it commitment to tackling climate change in �鶹���� and Bute. Local members and the public will be consulted on a long list of potential sites for new EV charging points across the area. These can then be installed as and when external funding becomes available. The Environment, Development and Infrastructure committee agreed to take this approach at Thursday’s meeting.