Barra and Uist councillors praise the spirit of their local communities

This week, Councillor Paul Steele on behalf of the Uist Group of councillors on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and Cllr Donald Manford of the Isle of Barra, give their responses…

Councillors in Uist and Barra have praised the work and communal spirit of their local communities and the agencies working in them during the lock-down period, and Uist councillor, Paul Steele, has said one of the main lessons that has emerged from the crisis “is the requirement to let communities identify their own needs and put in place solutions that work for them”.

Cllr Steele, who represents the Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eiriosgaigh agus Uibhist a Deas ward on Comhairle nan Eilean, and leads the Uist group of councillors, said in a statement that Uist and Barra’s “greatest asset” is its “community spirit and togetherness”.

In a full statement, Cllr Steele said: “In the build up to, and during the implementation of the lock-down period, we have been humbled by the response of the people here in our community.

“They have put in place systems, facilities, people and procedures to help and support each other at a local level, from arranging the pick up and delivery of prescriptions, to shopping, or converting buildings to assist the work of the NHS.

“Our communities have empowered themselves. Not necessarily from a point of view that we’re not receiving the support required, but because it needs done, so let’s do it.

“The talk of community empowerment at a national and local authority level has been mainly that, just talk. We need to focus on it, now.

“There are many lessons to be learned from this crisis and one that should be at the forefront is the requirement to let communities identify their own needs and put in place solutions that work for them.

“We are realistic, we live on some (amazing) islands in the North Atlantic, with all the issues that brings. We rely at times for support from various different agencies locally and nationally.

“There are barriers to being fully self-sufficient but people here will find a way to get things done.

“We are resilient but that resilience has been slowly eroded over time. Our demographics show an ageing population, some of our services are being reduced from a not particularly high starting point to a level which is of major concern.

“Over the last few years we have worked to improve the lot of our islands despite austerity reducing the funding available to us.

“We identified a number of weaknesses in Uist and Barra and what this situation has highlighted is that we were right to have concerns about some of the decisions taken.

“The centralisation of services has undoubtedly exposed vulnerabilities which we need to address with our community’s support.

“When we’re being asked to lock down in our homes it is vital that we have access to services without having to travel great distances or have people travelling great distances to us.

“We have worked hard to ensure that there were Emergency Planning procedures in place and because of that we weren’t totally unprepared for what has happened.

“The communication and work going on behind the scenes from all agencies in the islands has been fantastic and being involved has given me, and I’m sure others too, an insight into how things can be done and should be done. Local solutions for local needs communicated inter-island and ready to be implemented if required.

“From a personal point of view, I would just like to mention the good work of Resilient Uist.

“The Lochboisdale Community Council was looking to form a resilience plan for the area, focusing on our response to weather related events etc., but in the weeks leading up to the lock-down we got together and set out a community based response to issues that could arise should conditions deteriorate with the Coronavirus.

“Resilient Uist was formed and we currently have just under 50 volunteers who are here to help. We have links and procedures with the Local Authority, with GP practices, Third Sector Groups, and Community Councils.

“None of what we do would be possible without our key workers. They need our support more than ever and specifically our Health and Social Care workers.

“We need to be doing all we can to let them do their jobs safely and not put them in a position where they will burn out.

“Capacity and resilience across all our services is essential and it’s what we have to get right. Identified weaknesses in any previous decision arrived at will have to be addressed. Let’s hope that the people who made those decisions are big enough to accept that.

Isle of Barra based councillor, Donald Manford, who also represents the Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eiriosgaigh agus Uibhist a Deas ward, said that the community had “pulled together” in “identifying the various and changing needs of people throughout the island”.

Cllr Manford said: “Notwithstanding the considerable anxiety and concern felt by everyone the community is pulling together with our local organisations immersed in identifying the various and changing needs of people throughout the island.

“Coordinating, identifying and securing the necessary supplies is challenging – as it is for the rest of the country – it will continue to be a driving priority.

“Our Community Councils have risen to this challenge with continually developing relationships with our health and social care professionals and voluntary sector. “The work of the Medical Practice securing and preparing contingency provision has been immense. We value the support provided by the Comhairle, Health Board and Scottish Government.

“Unsurprisingly, there’s an overwhelming response from the community offering support and volunteering to help.

“Coordinating this effort, towards potential near-future need, brings its own challenges.

“From other countries we learn that a long period of lock-down will create additional pressures which must be identified and supported. However, financial resources to enable people to provide for their families and themselves will become ever critical.

“The vast majority of people are conscientiously implementing the Stay Safe Guidance and I am confident that this vigilance will continue”.

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