Update on Argyll & Bute Council

Complaint against me

The Standards Commissioner intends to proceed to a public hearing on the 2nd complaint against me, the details of which I cannot make public. Despite asking for it to be in Dunoon, on the basis that this would attract more public interest, they have decided on Kilmory on 20, 21 and 22 September. They appear to think that our newly refurbished pier buildings are not appropriate for some reason.

Audit Scotland

I got a reply from Audit Scotland on the area committee losing powers, the losses of the employability team and the losses at Dunoon Pier, saying the following:

• We will be following up the December BV report in this year’s Annual Audit Report, which is reported to me at the end of September. This will cover some of the issues around the role of area committees.
• We are aware of the report the council considered in June on the employability contract. Again, the team will be considering this in the annual audit report in September
• We are aware of the issues to do with pier operations. We will pick this up as part of our planning for the 2016/17 audit of Argyll and Bute Council.

Castle Toward

Alan Stewart commented on my post about the losses being incurred at Dunoon Pier and, quite rightly, assumed that the daily costs of keeping Castle Toward empty could be added to this. See here.

I decided to ask what the council’s own calculations on costs were to ensure that what people were saying in public was justified. In particular, I wondered if the average daily costs might have come down due to some non-recurring costs at the start being evened out over a longer period. However, the reply has been marked as commercially sensitive so I am not allowed to tell you. I have challenged this so perhaps there will be a change of heart.

Lodge House, Castle Gardens

The eyesore of the Lodge House is still there so everyone coming off the wee ferry has sight of it. I have been asking for some time for an update on the costs. The last I got was on Friday past in reply to my 3rd email on the subject. Officers have managed to avoid to avoid telling me what the current estimated costs are, would you believe. I have asked for a 4th time today. I think it’s extraordinary that costs you pay for are kept from you but I’ll keep pressing as I think the public has a right to know, especially on this eyesore we have all had to endure for years.

More to follow next week.