The Community Council has been contacted about several surveys which we list here:
BUDGET SURVEY
The first is a survey on budgets and services from the Council. This is extremely important as they are looking for millions in savings. Help our community by insisting our lifelines are not cut, and that the council find different ways to balance their budgets. You have until 14th February:
https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/form/budget-survey
“With a budget gap of £27 million over the next five years, we do not have enough funding to meet demands. We’re asking you what services should council budgets prioritise?
“Over the past 10 years, we have delivered more than £50 million in savings to continue providing services to our communities. We continue to look for more savings but the size of the budget gap means we face having to deliver further savings in the years ahead.”
R100 SURVEY
In the three years to 2019 the c ommunity, through “Kyles Community Broadband” attempted to procure fibre optic broadband for the community. With a budget of £1.5M promised KCB got as far as the competitive tender, but were stymied by a combination of budget and capacity of the organisations tendering. At that point the Scottish Government promised to make our area a priority after the ten areas already allocated official priority status. Over the intervening years, despite a six-monthly reminder from the CC, nothing has happened, or has been intimated to happen. Therefore this survey is very important and we encourage everyone to answer it. Here’s what the SG say about it:
“The Scottish Government is investing in broadband infrastructure in Your area through its Reaching 100% (R100) programme and we’re keen to get your support to help gather feedback.
“The £600+ million programme is extending access to faster broadband to sub-30 Megabits per second homes and businesses who are unlikely to receive upgrades through commercial plans. You can find out more about R100 at: gov.scot/digitalconnectivity.
“To understand whether and how households and organisations have benefited from R100, the Scottish Government is undertaking an evaluation of the programme. As part of this, we are surveying households and organisations who:
- Are scheduled to receive broadband access via R100 but have not yet been connected
- Have been provided with broadband access via R100 and have taken up the connection
- Have been provided with broadband access via R100 but have not taken up the connection
“The surveys are available online and can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/R100Evaluation“
VISITOR LEVY CONSULTATION
“People in council areas across Scotland are considering a visitor levy for their area and we would like you to have the same chance to consider one for Argyll and Bute.
“Why? Because at a time when funding for public services is shrinking, a visitor levy is an option for raising investment to sustain local services used by visitors, as well as residents, and to keep the area as a top visitor attraction.
“Support for individual tourism businesses, or for extending the tourism season are examples of how levy income could be used. Services used by the visitor economy, and so could benefit from levy funding, include for example, waste, roads, transport and leisure services.
“We are running a 12-week consultation and invite you to take the time to find out more about what a levy could mean for Argyll and Bute, and then give your view.”
You can find more information on the council website, plus:
