2016: a bad year but not all bad
I would like to open this column by wishing all readers very best wishes for the festive season.
I hope you had an excellent Christmas and that you are looking forward to an enjoyable New Year.
Here’s hoping that 2017 is good to you and those close to you.
There’s no doubt that many people are looking forward to seeing out the old year. 2016 has been a tumultuous period, both here and across the globe.
What with continued austerity, the ongoing terror threat, Brexit and president-elect Trump, I think lots of people feel we have never seen a year like it before.
Certainly this close to Hogmanay it is common to reflect on the year gone by and I feel a mixture of emotions when I look back on the issues we have faced and the ones I have raised in this newspaper.
Despite the bad reputation 2016 has earned, I think there has been much to be glad about in South Lanarkshire.
I started this year by telling you that the council had been able to scrap some of the proposals that had been made around our 2016/17 budget savings. There was particular relief that this included cancelling changes to school bus transport arrangements.
Later in the year I was able to share some excellent SQA exam results for local pupils: the best ever pass rates and, I think, a real justification of the resources we have invested in our schools and teachers.
I also told you about the council’s ambitious programme to build more social housing across South Lanarkshire.
In March there was also the very good news that the Scottish Steel Taskforce, which the council had hosted, had been able to help find a buyer for Lanarkshire’s last two steel plants, Clydebridge and Dalzell.
But the grim side of 2016 affected us locally too and at other times the news was less positive.
Once again one of the biggest challenges to the council was how to continue protecting key frontline services in the face of ongoing austerity and its impact on our income.
This process came to a head just two weeks ago, when we had the presentation of the draft Scottish
I think there has been much to be glad about in South Lanarkshire