Cllr Katy Loudon
It was an honour and a privilege to be elected as a councillor for Cambuslang East on May 4.
As a new councillor it has been a steep learning curve but, as part of the new SNP administration, I am looking forward to working with others across the council to help deliver our ambitious manifesto commitments for South Lanarkshire and Cambuslang.
As a trained teacher, I am particularly looking forward to my role as chair of the education committee, working closely with schools, teachers, as well as national government, to continue the great work already being done in our schools and working together to improve attainment.
One of the satisfying aspects of my role as a councillor is getting to meet constituents and community groups in Cambuslang and elsewhere and to see the great work they are doing .
I was delighted to attend the recent Trinity High lower school prize giving, the summer fair and parent council at Hallside Primary, the summer celebration at Park View Primary and the summer show at Cairns Primary.
I also recently attended Summerfest and Newton Gala Day, great community events which are a credit to their organisers.
I was particularly interested to hear more about the new community facility which will be adjacent to the new Newton Farm Primary. This will contain sporting facilities that will be available to the public and clubs. I also attended the opening of the Particip8 hub in Newton which will also be available to local groups.
It was good to celebrate the success and hard work of volunteers and voluntary organisations across South Lanarkshire at the VASLan awards, where volunteers from LEAP and 138th Glasgow Scouts (based in Cambuslang) were recognised for their service. Ten years of youth work in South Lanarkshire was also celebrated recently by the Regen:FX Trust at their awards ceremony. As part of my role as chair of education, I have had regular catch-up meetings with education officers.
In the spirit of openness that the new SNP administration want to establish, I have suggested at committee that we consider how best to represent parents and teachers from various educational establishments on the committee, including the representation of additional special needs.
On the same note, I was delighted to see that a task and finish group has been set up to consider forming a petitions committee as part of the council’s decision making process.
Surgeries will take place after the schools return, and will be advertised on-line and around Cambuslang.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on social media or on katy.loudon@ southlanarkshire.gov.uk. As well as constituent enquiries, I am particularly interested in hearing about local groups who would like to make contact with their elected representative, or have representation at a meeting.