Area committee move is positive for Caithness
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The move by the newly formed SNP, Liberal Democrat and Labour administration has been welcomed by Caithness councillors who say it is a positive move and one which will return democracy to local people.
Meeting in Inverness yesterday for the first time since the elections, the Highland Council announced its intention to establish five new area committees.
Each is expected to be given financial powers over education and housing and infrastructure as well as other issues in its area. It is hoped that they could be up and running as soon as August.
To begin with, the Caithness and Sutherland committee along with one in Inverness will pilot additional responsibilities, which, if successful, could then be rolled out to the others.
Meetings of the local area committee would be held at venues across the Far North to give people the chance to witness discussions and decision-making.
New council leader Drew Hendry said the administration would work hard to ensure that the five new area committees are created to serve the Highlands. They could be paid for by reducing the number of central committees.
SNP Landward Caithness councillor Alex MacLeod welcomed the announcement, saying it is time that decision-making was brought back to a local level.
“The Caithness and Sutherland area committee will become a powerful voice within the Highland Council and its aim is to ensure that local democracy is returned to local people,” he said.
“I am a passionate campaigner for local control and decisions about the community being made in the region it serves, and Mr Hendry’s announcement can only be seen as excellent news.
“Changes had to be made in terms of centralisation within the Highland Council; the new committee areas is a step forward in bringing powers back to Caithness and the new administration has moved swiftly to achieve this.”
Wick councillor Neil MacDonald welcomed the announcement, saying that local people deserve the right to make decisions where they live.
“When I was campaigning for the elections, one of the main things people wanted was to bring local powers back to the county,” the Labour representative said.
“Caithness and Sutherland is a vast area and in the past people said that they felt their opinions were not heard in Inverness.
“This has got to be seen as a positive move for decentralisation and from what I have seen from the councillors who have been elected, they have every intention of delivering on their promises of decentralised decision-making.”
Fellow Labour councillor Roger Saxon, Thurso, said that Caithness councillors are due to meet on Monday in Wick to appoint a new Caithness civic leader as well as discuss local business issues.
He welcomed the announcement of the proposed area committees.
“It is brilliant news and it is what I have been campaigning for to be introduced in Caithness,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with other councillors next week to discuss business and the issues that are most important to the area.
“The final detail of what actual powers the area committee will have has yet to be finalised, but hopefully it is a plan that will benefit everyone.”
The previous area committee system was abolished in 2007 with the introduction of multi-member wards and single transferable vote elections.
As well as the five new committee areas across the Highlands, Mr Hendry pledged to establish a new Community Challenge Fund, to commit to additional support for children and families, and to introduce a living wage for low-paid council staff.
