Council meetings cancelled until July Reduced timetable for local bus services
All council, committee and Policy Development and Scrutiny Panels meetings between now and July 31 in West Lothian have been cancelled as part of the response to the coronavirus emergency.
Delegated powers will enable Graham Hope, the chief executive, to deal with business normally presented to committee but which can’t wait until the next scheduled committee meeting.
Before decisions are taken, consultation with elected members is required. A written record is kept. Any such action is reported to the next available meeting of the committee concerned. Essentially non- urgent business will go to the next meeting and anything that is decided will go to the next scheduled meeting so everything is in the public domain. A council spokesman said: “Also, chairs of committees have the power to call special meetings for council and committees so this may happen as things develop.”
First West Lothian has announced that bus services will operate to a reduced timetable during the working week.
Services are now operating to a broadly Sunday timetable but with additional journeys added earlier in the morning to sustain services for those key workers and emergency service staff needing to make essential travel across the region.
The bus operator says it’s committed to continuing services wherever possible so that those who need to make essential journeys can do so.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined strict new measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus including that people should leave home only to exercise once a day, travel to work where “absolutely necessary”, shop for essential items and to fulfil any medical or care needs. Recent days have seen the number of people using bus services reduce as they adhere to the government lockdown.
Andrew Jarvis, managing director of First West Lothian, said: “With much of the UK effectively ordered to stay at home for at least the next few weeks, we have made the decision to move to a reduced service timetable to support those who still need to get to and from work and get out to shops and pharmacies, whilst fulfilling our own role as vital key workers during this time of national crisis.
“It’s important to emphasise that we are in constant contact with stakeholders, including local authorities and ministers, and rest assured everything is being done to keep those key workers mobile as the nation comes together to limit the spread of coronavirus.
“I would like to personally thank everyone at First West Lothian who have been absolutely fantastic at keeping the wheels turning for essential workers in the local area. Regular customers can be assured we will endeavour to get more frequent services back up and running as soon as the Government decides it is safe to do so.”
For more details visit https:// www.firstgroup.com/south-eastand-central-scotland/news-andservice-updates/current-issues/ coronavirus-covid19-service.