Leader of North Ayrshire Council meeting the COSLA President

Sep 14 2012 by Ross Dunn, Irvine Herald

The Leader of North Ayrshire Council has met the new COSLA President to discuss the priorities for the area.

Council Leader, Councillor Willie Gibson, met the new COSLA President – fellow North Ayrshire Councillor David O’ Neill – on one of his first official visits in his new role.

The newly elected COSLA President, and Irvine West Councillor, was at Cunninghame House in Irvine as part of a drive to visit all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

The former Leader of North Ayrshire Council was elected President of COSLA – the umbrella group for local authorities in Scotland – in June.

New Leader of the Council, Councillor Gibson, Depute Leader, Councillor Alan Hill and North Ayrshire Council Chief Executive, Elma Murray, discussed a range of priority issues with the newly elected COSLA President.

Local and national issues discussed included education; roads shared services; the integration of health and social services and European Funding.

Councillor Gibson said: “Cunninghame House is of course very familiar to Councillor O’Neill after more than 30 years as a local councillor.

“We were delighted to welcome him in his role as COSLA President and to put forward our views on issues concerning North Ayrshire.

“It was a very positive meeting that covered a wide range of subjects and we look forward to working closely with COSLA in the future.”

COSLA President, Councillor O’Neill, said: “As a membership organisation it is important that we engage with our membership in a real and meaningful way.”