Do you agree with the Commissions's Do you support the overall pattern of Response proposals that Comhairle Nan Eilean Please provide reasons for your How did you find out about the Please provide reasons for your answer wards that the Commission has Organisation type? - About you ID Siar should have 28 councillors, 3 answer - text box consultation? - Awareness proposed? - Support less than at present? - Agreement

I appreciate the reasons for the boundary changes, but, and this is a big but, the loss of 3 rural councilors further skews the power towards . This is already a problem, A reduction in the number of Councillors is good, as it save money from our cash CNES1 Yes No and this makes it worse. We in the Community group/organisation Not Answered strapped council. southern Isles, and the rural north, get a very bad deal from the council. What we need is to loose 4 councilors from Strornoway, this would redress the power imbalance.

I believe the councillors represent the people who live in certain areas. People who live in more rural areas of the Western Isles have as much right to representation as those in more urban areas such as the town of Stornoway. Policies over the years have led to increased centralisation and there is a huge disparity in services provided to different I think the suggestions for Lewis and areas of the Western Isles. By reducing Councillors in rural areas it only exacerbates that Harris are fine but I think you should situation as the power base will be in Stornoway and can’t be good for areas such as leave Wards 1 and 2 as they are. The and . The time and effort the councillors from Uist and Barra have to put in just to geographical issues relating to Barra have the same access to the council and officers based in Stornoway is huge, by reducing being a separate island are valid but I their numbers it will only make their job more difficult and make it harder to represent CNES2 No No don’t think it’s fair to have only one Member of the public Facebook their constituents. The Comhairle are looking at a Single Island Authority model, surely councillor. If it were to have 2 I would that will mean we need more elected representatives not less. One final point relates to say a Ward for Barra and , a 3 committee membership of councillors, the current system allows each area to have at councillor Ward for and least 1 councillor on each of the Comhairle committees meaning they get decent and a 3 Councillor Ward for representation, the proposal here means that some councillors (Barra for example) may and have to be on virtually every committee to represent their areas, adding hugely to their workload, when you factor in overnights stays required to attend meetings it will put people off from becoming a councillor, we wonder why women and young people aren’t putting themselves forward, that is one of the reasons.

The traditional county / island boundary between Harris and Lewis appears not to have been followed betwen the Abhainn a Mhuill and the Abhainn Bhioigadail which has the effect of moving Bowglass from Harris to a Lewis ward.

The 5 properties here should be returned to Harris and the County / CNES3 Yes No Member of the public Not Answered Island Boundary should follow the traditional delineation of the Abhainn a Mhuill.

Given this boundary was the subject of a long running dispute in the 19th century that escalated up to and including demolition of properties it would seem sensible to avoid creating a new boundary dispute. CNES4 Yes Cost savings Yes Reflects population changes Member of the public Local newspaper advert CNES5 Yes Save money they do nothing Yes They should be count down more Member of the public Local newspaper advert Far too many at present for the size of the population. When council jobs and services are However I think Loch a Tuath could being cut due to budgetary constraints it is only reasonable to cut down on councillors to be reduced to 2 councillors and CNES6 Yes Yes Member of the public Facebook protect budget for services. I also think more cuts to councillor numbers could be made, possibly one or two other wards down to 25 or 26 could be cut also has a similar population and has 22 councillors, has 21.

Broadly speaking, there should be a redrawing if the lines as follows:

Uists, Barra, Benbecula, Eriskay, Vatersay - 3 councillors

Harris and South Lochs - 3 councillors It's broadly in keeping with the geographical regions used by the IJB Uig, Bernera and the West Side - 2 councillors for provisioning health and social CNES7 No Yes care, meaning that residents with Member of the public Word of mouth Barvas, Galson and Ness - 2 councillors issues in these areas can get the right person dealing with their specific Stornoway East and Point - 5 councillors issue in a more timely manner. Stornoway West and Broadbay - 5 councillors

That gives 20 councillors, or just over 1000 people represented by each Councillor.

This is still gives significantly more representation than the UK average of 2603 people per Councillor and reflects where the population is most dense. But still far too many. We could Even 28 is far too many for the size of the population. 20 would more than cover it. easily manage with 7 wards, without CNES8 Yes They are an arrogant undemocratic bunch anyway, and always have been, so you can't Yes doing a worse job, though admittedly Member of the public Local newspaper advert argue democracy wouldn't be served with a smaller number hard to see how it could be worse than the current shower Because it is absurd that such a small area should have so many councillors, particularly CNES9 Yes Yes Member of the public Local newspaper advert in the Stornoway ward. The proposals do not go far enough. The majority of councillors still have other jobs and treat being a councillor as a part time CNES10 No jolly.In the point ward I live in we have three councillors for the area two of which work Yes Member of the public Facebook full time.There should be one councillors who is full time after all I thought that was the whole point of the role being salaried There should be less councillors for CNES11 No I think there should be less than the number proposed. No Member of the public Local newspaper article the areas proposed. A few less councillors will lessen the wage bill & provide communities & the council with CNES12 Yes extra money which may result in less cut backs on essential services. Shall I hope also Yes Member of the public Word of mouth make those left sit up & work a bit harder than they do currently!! I don’t think Barra and Vatersay should be a stand alone constituency with only one councillor. I prefer the current position were it is a larger area with 4 councillors. This CNES13 No means there is a bigger pool of experience and knowledge to draw upon and is more No As explained in previous answer. Member of the public Twitter conjusive to working together. Many of the issues in Barra and Vatersay are similar to the ones in the Uist sand it will also save duplication. CNES14 No We need more diversity. Yes Member of the public Twitter CNES15 Yes Population shrinkage, saves money. Yes Not Answered It Has been publicised that the population of Uist is growing with with Young people returning and others locating her. With the rollout of Fibre networks here this trend is CNES16 No likely to continue and I therefore suggest that is not the time to reduce the number of Yes Member of the public Facebook Councilors representing the people here. My statement is based on there being changes proposed for Uist! Councillors need to be in all local areas, including North Uist especially when huge decisions are made by the council in an underhand manner. North Uist needs a CNES17 No representative to ensure its voice in respect if the spaceport proposal is heard and No Member of the public Facebook understood. By consultation if you mean deciding what to do and then doing that regardless of public opinion please stop wasting everyone’s time. CNES18 No The least councilors the better. No Less wards the better. Member of the public Facebook South Uist is 2nd largest island but only gets 2 councillors this will CNES19 Yes Over represesentation of Lewis since 1970s has decimated the economy of south Uist No ensure the Lewis mafia can continue Facebook to abandon the southern isles in favour of Lewis Councillors should be cut in the north island of Lewis, specifically in the Stornoway Town area rather than anywhere else. The Southern Isles are already severely under represented (7 councillors in total for , North Uist, , Benbecula, South North Uist should have 2 Councillors Uist, Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay wile there are 8 for Stornoway Town itself!) The as should Benbecula. South Uist CNES20 Yes numbers may be based on population numbers but this system is severely flawed in a No Member of the public Word of mouth should have a minimum of three and rural setting. It is far easier to see a Councillor in a town setting than it is to see a Barra and Vatersay 1 Councillor in the rural islands in the south. Our Councillors are extremely busy but physically cannot see everyone, we could do with adding one to our numbers not losing one to become even more under represented. The system is wrong. Southern isles area too large and needs too great in each part of the It will diminish the voice of the people, who live on the island - the more councillors the CNES21 No No island, multiple areas of great need Member of the public Facebook better the voice that will be heard so the councillors should be retained as they are I would like to see the arguements CNES22 Yes Money could be better spent Not Answered for and against. Before making an Member of the public Facebook informed decision. Far too many wards. Many can be That is still far to many a number for the population head. Many of these councillors don't CNES23 No No combined, even islands such a Barra Member of the public Facebook even have a say on major issues so having so many is pointless. could be combined with South Uist.

CNES24 Yes Too many for small area, even 28 is too much Yes Member of the public Facebook Barra is a unique island with it's own culture and way of being. They We should have as much representation of local areas as possible. Reducing democracy CNES25 No No should be represented as the Member of the public Facebook is never a good start. individuals they are. South Uist problems are not Barra problems. Makes more sense for Uig than CNES26 Yes Yes Member of the public Facebook previous ward There should me more councillors and more women councillors to counter act consumer I say yes but it is very unclear from CNES27 No communication about community problems. No councillor (Male) has ever answered an Yes your maps what on earth you are Facebook email from me. asking. CNES28 Yes 28 still too many. Yes Member of the public Facebook CNES29 Yes They don’t do anything anyway No Stornoway should be one ward Facebook I can't identify any changes within my island. Although it would be far CNES30 Yes It'll save money on their wages Yes better if the Isle of Harris was solely Member of the public Facebook represented without lumping parts of the in with it. By the looks of the proposal 1 ward If councillor numbers were to be reduced, it would add extra work to the remaining would disappear completely leaving 1 CNES31 No No Member of the public Facebook members, also in which wards would the cuts be made? very large geographical ward where currently there are 2. I feel that we should have a separate ward with one councillor for Barra and Vatersay due to the geography and diversity of our integrated community. It would prevent the need for travelling to South Uist for We need as many voices as possible considering diversity of the length and breadth of the CNES32 No No meetings and would give us a greater Member of the public Facebook Western Isles. voice in Stornoway. In particular in recent times with changes/developments to our hospital, care home, schools etc which needs a strong local voice to convey the communities concerns. That map makes no sense at all. It CNES33 No The optimum number of councillors would be preferable. No seems to create confusion. Where are Member of the public Facebook the horizontal lines ? CNES34 Yes Yes Member of the public Twitter I feel it would save public money. We are currently experiencing service cuts which hit the It matches with community CNES35 Yes poorest in society. I would prefer to see the money spent on men attending meetings Yes Not Answered boundaries more naturally. reduced compared to vital services. I believe that it is close to being representative but for Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula 3 is not enough. There are 5 community councils and by my estimations over 3000 Looks good but it would be beneficial CNES36 No people and will be the largest ward out with Stornoway. I agree that barra have 1 and Yes to all if Eriskay, South uist and Community group/organisation Word of mouth North Uist and Bernaray have 2. As a community council committee member my voice benbecula ward was 4 cllrs should be heard. CNES37 Yes Too many wards badly thought out boundaries Yes Member of the public Twitter At present the islands of Barra and Vatersay are represented by 4 councillors who also represent South Uist and Eriskay. In my opinion this works to the benefit of Barra and Vatersay in that persons who do not have direct experience of the islands come with a fresh perspective and, I agree that the number should be reduced to save money and consolidate representation because they have to consult all local CNES38 Yes but I do not agree with the proposed distribution which just leaves Barra and Vatersay No Member of the public Local newspaper advert stakeholders to gain an with one councillor understanding of the needs and opportunities, can give a more nuanced and unbiased representation. Going back to only having one local councillor for Barra And Vatersay would be a retrograde step and narrow the choice of representatives. CNES39 Not Answered Not Answered Not Answered

Creating a single councillor ward for Barra & Vatersay means there is no redundancy. Either the existing ward The ward boundaries should reflect local communities regardless of their size or should be maintained or 2 councillors population. This can make parity within and between geographic areas difficult to CNES40 No No appointed. The existing ward Member of the public Word of mouth achieve better reflect local communities. A reduction in numbers in sparely population 'Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eiriosgaigh areas is likely to make achieving good representation more rather than less difficult. agus Uibhist a Deas' as it as the areas share similar issues and benefit from having more than one representative.

Uist is bucking the long-term depopulation trend, with a rise in the birth-rate. The numbers have jumped by 67 per cent compared to a decade ago. There is also an increase in the number of young people opting to either return to the islands. Statistics show that the main Islands in population growth within communities are Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula. This is one ward choice of this proposal which with numbers rising then we should be looking at four cllrs. With a huge amount of community groups I believe the 3 councillors proposed will struggle to fully commit to such a vast ward. Current estimations is that the population of the three islands is now in the region of 3600. That would mean 1200 per Cllr, surely that should be per 650/700 to cover the I believe Barra should have a CNES41 No logistical demands of such a vast ward. The are growing and growing fast. With the Yes Community group/organisation Local newspaper advert dedicated rep. South Uist missile range expanding greatly, the new space port and young people starting new businesses, it only proves that destination Uist is an attractive place to stay. I run the Uist jobs page and part of my remit is to attract new people and roles to the Islands. I have done a very good job in attracting new families to settle in Uist and Benbecula. They deserve better representation coverage.

The ideal scenario would be to cut 2 cllrs from the Stornoway wards and have it representation by ward land size.

I believe that 28 is still too many. We should have fewer councillors, but paid a proper CNES42 No salary - that way we might attract younger, and more talented/committed people into the Yes Member of the public Twitter role. I was delighted to hear that councillor numbers were being reviewed, but dismayed that only three fewer were suggested. I feel that seven councillors would be ample given the size of population, one each for Barra, North Uist, South Uist, Harris and Lewis and two for Stornoway. Fewer councillors would lead to speedier and better decision making and As already stated one councillor per greatly reduce expenditure. Today with modern communication and video links there is CNES43 No No main island group, plus two for Local newspaper advert no need for costly meetings, travel to the mainland and attendance at conferences. There Stornoway should be sufficient. is no reason to suppose that fewer councillors would lead to poorer council performance and recent cuts, such as the drastic reduction in bus services which adversely affect those members of the electorate, the elderly, disabled and less well off, whoi should be deemed worthy of extra consideration.

The three Islands in this ward appear to be bucking the long-term depopulation trend and we believe there is a rise in employment opportunities, a rise in houses being erected and the birth-rate numbers appear to be increasing. Since of the islands of Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula have been in community ownership there appears to have been an increase in the number of young people opting to either return to or to stay on the islands. We disagree with the proposal for the cut in councillors for the proposed ward of Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula. As one of 5 community councils in a vast ward we believe that With the South Uist missile range three elected members is insufficient. This ward will be the largest by area, have the expanding, the new Space port on the CNES44 No No Community group/organisation Word of mouth highest number of community councils and groups within any ward in the Western Isles. way, regeneration and Cutting councillor numbers within this area will be detrimental to ensuring that the new ferry berth as well as growth in opinions and voices of these communities are heard. young people starting new businesses, we believe that the population will continue to increase.

Current estimations suggest that the population of the three islands is now in the region of 3600. This works out at 1200 people per Cllr. To cover the logistical demand of such a vast ward, common sense should prevail and have one Cllr per 600-700 of this wards population. We believe that the number for this ward should be 4 councillors.

Small population, seems extreme to have so many councillors. Particularly given budget I can't make out the split between CNES45 Yes No Member of the public Twitter constraints. wards in Uist on this infographic,

I agree with the majority of changes in although As a Councillor in the Comhairle I am acutely aware of the workload and time Stornoway could become a single commitments required in an island authority. A reduction in numbers will make a Ward. If a reduction in Councillor difficult job even harder and will reduce a community’s ability to contribute in the numbers is required a 6 Councillor decision making processes. We are currently reviewing local governance arrangements in Ward in Stornoway could work. the authority so I think reducing Councillor numbers especially in rural areas before that If Barra was to be a Ward on its own, has been developed is the wrong way forward. I would also say that the multi-Ward areas which makes geographic sense, I we currently have means that each ward area is represented fairly across all committees, would suggest 2 Councillors would reducing wards to 1 or 2 Councillors means the areas can’t possibly be represented on all allow the best representation for the CNES46 No committees. A single Barra Councillor would have to be on all 6 standing committees No people on the island and for an area a Councillor Word of mouth compared to each one of 8 Stornoway councillors only needing to be on 2 or 3, combine lot larger than Stornoway would be that with the travel required to attend these meetings in Stornoway I don’t think it’s useful to cover such a large area. I making things fairer and disproportionately affects those further from the centres of think North Uist and Benbecula (3 power which is where the reduction in numbers is proposed to come from. We are elected Councillors) works well and South to represent a population living in a specific geographic area, we are actively trying to Uist and Eriskay (potentially 3 increase rural populations so basing Cllr numbers on current population figures alone Councillors) could work well as Ward isn’t the right way to decide on Councillor numbers, if we extrapolated that to MPs and areas. I should say that I don’t have a MSPs the Eilean Siar area would suffer. problem with the current Ward areas and I represent probably the largest of them all.

Councillors in rural areas are answerable to their local communities. In these islands, it is probably more so than elsewhere. I am not concerned at the ratio of councillors to population or the potential savings made by reducing councillors. They are a more accurate reflection of CNES47 No Yes Member of the public Twitter The balance of CNES is already strongly in favour of Stornoway. Removing rural existing geographical communities councillors, while leaving Stornoway untouched will have a hugely negative impact on the rural areas, reducing our voices in the council chamber, while leaving the urban ones untouched. This reduces the representation in rural areas and this is exactly the opposite of what is needed within the Western Isles. The local government representatives are already too This reduces the proper CNES48 No centred on Stornoway and the needs of the town to the detriment of the rural population No representation of vulnerable rural Member of the public Twitter of Lewis and the other islands. The proposal is harmful as a reduction in councillors areas. further restricts the representation of the most vulnerable communities in the island. CNES49 Yes No Facebook The rural areas need more attention and should retain all their councillors. The main town has most CNES50 Yes yes. No Member of the public Twitter of the expenditure anyway and this is where the councillor reduction should be made. You are removing councillors from peripheral area. The council is already Stornoway The ward boundaries are well suited CNES51 No No Member of the public Twitter centric and your proposals only make this worse. as they are. CNES52 No No Not Answered

There is a long historical connection There should be increased representation in South Uist given the long distances to be between South Uist and Eriskay. They CNES53 No No Member of the public Twitter covered on the island's inadequate and remote roads. should be paired together, likewise Benbecula and North Uist.

I am the Chair of South Harris Community Council and we have discussed at length this issue. We feel that a reduction in the number but with Harris having 2 seperate Councillors will better represent the views of the people of Harris rather than the position Same as previous question plus as at present where 3 Councillors have to represent the whole of Harris and part of Lewis. Harris has a long Heritage of being a CNES54 Yes Yes seperate community within the Community group/organisation Not Answered We have created a Harris Forum to try and bring forward the views and aims which will overall community of the Western ensure a bright future for the economy and structure of Harris. Our Councillors will be an Isles. integral part of the Forum. To represent an area outside Harris could be difficult in those circumstances. CNES55 No Because it'd probably be those out with Stornoway that would be cut. Yes No difference in Harris Member of the public Twitter CNES56 No Reducing councillor numbers in rural areas will leave them underrepresented. No It doesn't need to be changed. Member of the public Twitter CNES57 No No Twitter North uist, benbecula, South Uist and Barra should be separate wards, CNES58 No Uist needs more councillors not less No Member of the public Facebook Eriskay should be included as South Uist. CNES59 No Why cut everywhere and not Stornoway? You do NOT need 8 councillors there. Yes No reason Member of the public Facebook Carlabhagh should be spelt with a CNES60 Yes Yes Not Answered grave, like this “Càrlabhagh”. has democracy deficit and should be looking to increase local coucnillors rather Makes sense to split Uig, Bernera and CNES61 No than cut. Also, shocking lack of a single non-male councillor should be absolute priority Yes West from Lochs. Cou'dn't comment Member of the public Facebook to .address here. on other proposals. CNES62 No see attached Yes see attached. Community group/organisation Not Answered CNES63 Yes see attached Yes Council Not Answered CNES64 No see attached No See attached Councillor Not Answered

Dear Isabel

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond.

Please find our comments below.

We agree that the Commission proposal of a single Barra Ward be adopted and that the remoteness from power and geographic imbalance be rectified by having 2 elected councillors in Barra Ward. It should be pointed out that remoteness is a subjective issue however distance from the main Comhairle Office and the location of Executive decision making capacity of the Comhairle is a very real and quantifiable issue which can be measured in terms of one hundred and fifty miles, two ferry journeys each way and a minimum of three nights away from home.

The Commission sets out to have electoral wards reflect local communities, follow historical and locally identifiable boundaries, consider special geographic circumstances in rural sparsely populated areas with limited transport links and consider ties in the whole Council area.

It is therefore proposed that the Commission consider then adopt this proposal as it reflects the grassroots and current Elected Councillor opinion and integrates community aspiration and historic identity into current representative democracy.

A primary matter to be considered is the distance from the centre of decisionmaking and power and how it further marginalises Barra and Vatersay.

The proposed under-representation as a variation from parity is -25% in Barra, whereas by comparison, in a Lewis Ward the over-representation is +16%. Barra has the greatest percentage under-representation in any of the Wards. It also is the Ward furthest from Stornoway.

It is the equivalent of local services in Edinburgh being provided from Aberdeen but without the ferry journeys or the overnight stays. This geographic distance would be considered unacceptable in Edinburgh but in Barra it is compounded by under-representation.

Having a strict population number to constituency is not strictly followed for the Westminster nor the Holyrood parliaments and both of these parliaments have the peripheral areas with the smallest population size both to reflect geographic entity and to build in a bias to take cognisance of the distance from the centre of power and where the main civil service offices are located.

This Westminster and Holyrood model of peripherality (as in peripheral from Westminster and Holyrood) should be adopted and adapted to suit the multi Councillor ward system that is proposed by the Comhairle.

Signed

Donald Manford

Councillor

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar SNP Uist and Barra Councillors Response to Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland proposals for Na th’Eileanan an Iar Council Area

The Commission sets out to have electoral wards reflect local communities, follow historical and locally identifiable boundaries, consider special geographic circumstances in rural sparsely populated areas with limited transport links and consider ties in the whole Council area.

It is therefore proposed that the Commission consider, then adopt this proposal as it reflects the grassroots and current Elected Councillor opinion and integrates community aspiration and historic identity into current representative democracy as delivered, or in reality not delivered, through the Comhairle.

This proposal will address the proposal for the Southern Isles comprising Barra and Uist and necessary adjustment to other Wards to accommodate this.

Barra was historically the domain of The Mac Neils and was in itself a distinct entity and this should be continued. The other matter to be considered here is the distance from the centre of decision making and power and how this marginalises Barra further. The proposed under-representation as a variation from parity is -25% in Barra, whereas by comparison, in a Lewis Ward the over-representation is +16% (Sgire Uig aghus Carlabhagh). Barra has the greatest percentage of under- representation in any of the Wards in the Comhairle area and it happens to be the Ward furtherest from Stornoway. It is agreed that The Commission proposal of a single Barra Ward be adopted and that the remoteness from power geographic imbalance be rectified by having two elected Councillors in the Barra Ward. It should be pointed out that remoteness is a subjective issue however distance from the main Comhairle office and the location of the Executive decision making capacity of the Comhairle is a very real and quantifiable issue which can be measured in terms of one hundred and fifty miles, two ferry journeys each way and a minimum of three nights away from home. It is the equivalent of local services in Edinburgh being provided for from Aberdeen but without the ferry journeys and the overnight stays. This geographic distance would be considered unacceptable in Edinburgh but in Barra the matter is compounded by under-representation. Many other Councils such as Aberdeenshire have Area Committees but Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is very resistant to devolving any aspect of decision making, control and particularly monetary expenditure along this avenue so the remoteness from power weighing is considered a means to address the geographic distance from the centre of power and the lack of an Area Committee system.

Uist has historically been a single island and continues to be a single island at low tide. Uist was historically ruled by The Mac Donalds and the population was integrated to a great degree with movement within the Uist area. This is reflected in the current day by there being a single secondary school, single Comhairle offices, hospital along with other amenities such as the MoD Base, Tagsa Uidhist and UCVO.

Transport and connectivity issues are much the same in The Middle Quarter of Sollas as they are in The Middle Half of Boisdale though these townships are fifty miles apart and Baile Mhanaich where the Comhairle Uist office is located is almost equidistant between them.

An issue that has cropped up repeatedly is the disparity in funding to the Southern Isles and a perfect case in point is the juxtaposition of new £12M Stornoway Dental Hospital whereas in Barra there is refusal by the Stornoway Powers to provide a Barra Hospital and in Uist the Stornoway Powers are seeking to close the Uist Hospital by redesign. This is redesigning the dental provision in Uist by relocating the dental chairs into the Uist Hospital Operating Theatre and Resuscitation Room whilst closing the dental surgeries in the communities and effectively converting the hospital to a dental surgery. The Council has a remit on this as half of the IJB Board Members are drafted from the Comhairle Councillors. This is particularly illustrative of the skewed representation as some Comhairle elected councillors from Lewis voted to close the Uist Hospital.

The proposal is therefore to have Uist as a single Ward with six elected councillors and this better reflects the Uist entity and those individuals that the people of Uist elect to represent them. It also builds in a remoteness from power factor caused by geography distance from the main Comhairle offices and the lack of an Area Committee.

If The Commission considers that the total number of elected councillors to the Comhairle should remain per the Comhairle nan Eilean proposal to The Commission then the answer is to amalgamate the current two Stornoway Wards into a single Stornoway Ward with six elected councillors. This is on the basis that the issues and solutions to problems in Stornoway are largely the same for both wards and will continue to be the same for a single Ward. The reduced number will be reflective of the closeness to power derived from geographic proximity.

Having a strict population number to constituency is not strictly followed for the Westminster nor the Holyrood parliaments and both of these parliaments have the peripheral areas with the smallest population size both to reflect geographic entity and to build in a bias to take cognisance of the distance from the centre of power and where the main civil service offices are located. This Westminster and Holyrood model of peripherality (as in peripheral from Westminster and Holyrood) should be adopted and adapted to suit the multi Councillor ward system that is proposed for the Comhairle area.

It is hoped that this model of local representation can be adopted to bring a measure of reality to the aspirations the people resident on Barra and on Uist. These proposals will also give a measure of balance to the representation by communities much removed by the realities of geography from centre of decision making and administrative control as opposed to the current situation where they are effectively beyond the Pale.

Yours faithfully

Donald Manford, Calum Mac Millan. SNP Councillors, Barra and Uist.

Brian Currie

Chair

Castlebay Community Council

Eoin MacNeil

Castlebay Community Councillor

Jessie MacNeil

Chair

Barra Locality Planning Group

Health & Social Care

Integrated Joint Board

19th December 2019