SNP Calls for Smarter Council Business

SNP Councillor John Semple is calling for Argyll & Bute Council to do its business smarter after the abandonment of a Local Community Planning meeting because of faulty video conferencing (VC) equipment which excluded participants form Islay, Jura, Colonsay and Lochgilphead.

“In the past I have described Argyll & Bute Council as being Prehistoric, which may have been tongue-in-cheek however the way council business is conducted and organised is so wasteful, costly, and environmentally damaging that it cannot be described as 21 Century. It also excludes the opportunity for public participation, people should not be denied access to council meetings by virtue of geography or poor facilities.”

“As chair of the Environmental PPG in 2008 I led a successful pilot in conducting meetings of the group via Video Conferencing and therefore saving travel time and expenses for two councillors on Mull which would have amounted to about £200 and 8 hours travel for a 2 hour meeting.”

“At the time assurances were given by senior management that serious attempts would be made to increase and improve the use of VC equipment for council business. Since then we have seen sharp reductions in our budgets for delivering services and steep increases in the cost of travel yet, next month the MAKI area committee will travel lock-stock-and-barrel to Islay; 8 members, 5-6 officers and 4 cars, that is equivalent of 3 weeks working time and I would suggest £1000 plus in expenses and fares.”

“I have written to Ellen Morton, Acting leader of the council calling her to make VC the primary means of communication over and above direct face –to-face meetings and to significantly expand and upgrade the councils VC equipment in the MAKI area as a matter of top priority.”

“This could be funded by projected savings in travel expenses and increased efficiency in workload of councillors and officers. I predict that a 50% saving in travel costs alone could be achieved which could amount to over £100,000 per year in the MAKI area alone. The saving could be used establish a state-of-the-art VC system which would significantly improve the efficiency of the council and reduce its carbon footprint.”

“The council must also grasp the nettle and stop hiding behind geography as an excuse for excluding its business from the vast majority of its electorate there is no reason why meetings cannot be streamed live to the councils website”