I had a great time at the Islay, Jura & Colonsay Agricultural show this week.
It was great to see so many of my own constituents, local campaign supporters and fellow party members all in one place and to hear from them about many local and national issues. Many of our farmers are quite rightfully not happy about the shocking delays in CAP payments.
Also I heard serious concerns about the news that Trust Housing are considering a large reduction in warden hours from Islay's sheltered housing. Unfortunately the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) have cut Trust’s funding for this service.
As a board member of the HSCP I have made it clear that I am completely against this decision - it goes against the national drive to support people in their own homes. I believe that it will disproportionately affect Island communities and will have serious short and long term consequences. Going forward it is important that the HSCP listens to all partners around the table – those elected councillors (and there are four of us) have as much to contribute as the NHS appointed members.
I heard numerous complaints about the poor condition of Islay and Jura's roads. I agree wholeheartedly with these complaints Islay and Jura have for far to long produced huge amounts of tax revenue yet received little in return in the way of public spending.
As your councillor I have and will continue to push for a better deal for Islay, Jura and the rest of my council ward. A huge thanks to all the organisers of and contributors to the event. I'm looking forward to next year's agricultural show.
Cllr Alastair Redman