It has not been easy to decide on way forward

As you read this column, we will be finalising the SNP budget.

As you know, the proposed changes to the school transport will not happen.

I know the savings for the budget seemed an easy pick, but Labour should never have proposed them in the first place; and as for the Tories, you never knew their position from one meeting to the next.

I can’t believe the SNP members were the only ones in the council who knew the problem the children and their families would have faced had these proposals gone ahead.

There was never any chance we would have accepted these proposals for our budget.

Another proposal we have not accepted is the one concerning the proposed closure of the Kilbowie Centre in Oban.

After speaking to a number of parents, pupils, and former pupils, the SNP group decided not to go ahead with this one.

Over the last few months the SNP budget group have been looking at suggestions where we can not only balance the budget, which we have to do, but also increase budgets in certain areas which are tight at the moment.

The budget meeting will be held this Friday, so everyone will know the results of our efforts then.

Prior to the infrastructure committee meeting last week, SNP councillor Tracy Carragher attempted, on more than one occasion, to get the gritting operation onto the agenda for that committee.

The reason for this concerned the number of complaints from the general public about the lack of gritting since the first spell of cold weather before Christmas.

In particular, most of the complaints concerned pavements and pathways at the entrances to schools.

Unfortunately, the Labour convener refused this reasonable request.

Before the meeting started Councillor Alan Stubbs again attempted to get it discussed on the agenda; there was no support other than from SNP members.

It was particularly disappointing when Labour accused us of making pathetic and puerile comments when all we were attempting to do was to defend our constituents.

One of the happiest days I spent in the past month was when I was invited to Tollbrae Primary for the school’s Burns afternoon.

I had a great time, first of all hearing the haggis being piped in, and then the wonderful poetry from the children.

During the course of the afternoon we were treated to songs from the school choir.

As I said in my column before Christmas, the choir is very good and, thanks to Mr Bisset’s guidance, they are getting better.

Mr Bisset was also the teacher who piped in the haggis.

Additional thanks go to the head teacher, Mrs Welsh, for the kind invitation to come along, and the rest of the staff for all their hard work.

Although I am not a member of any Burns clubs, I believe it is important we keep the memory of the great man alive.

Snow joke A lack of gritting was an issue during the bad weather