Politicians right to ask questions

Sir, - In relation to the letter by Mike Donaghy, Councillor is doing her best for Perthshire (September 26) there is unfortunately an issue with broadband provision in Highland Perthshire at the moment which requires to be resolved.

As the chair of one of the 10 constituent community councils who are members of Highland Perthshire Communities Partnership (HPCP), I welcome the scrutiny that has been brought to this as it is not obvious to us what is going on at the moment and where responsibility lies.

HPCP is a valued community support group in this area and we rely on it to liaise effectively about issues of community interest across what is a very large and often remote ward.

The decision to provide broadband was well intentioned and researched, and if everything had gone to plan, then that would have been an excellent way of supporting community efforts into the future.

But something has gone wrong. We don’t know exactly what that is, and it is right that Murdo Fraser MSP and Councillor Ian Campbell have asked the questions why.

This is a matter of wider local interest up here. There is a lot of public money involved and we would all like to see the issues clarified, whatever they are, and the situation resolved. Victor Clements. Chair, Aberfeldy Community Council, Mamies’s Cottage, Taybridge Terrace, Aberfeldy.