Council agrees urgent motion calling for local Covid-19 information sharing

Council today agreed an urgent motion by Cllrs Margaret Davidson, Andrew Jarvie, Alasdair Christie and Jimmy Gray with a call for more detailed local information sharing on Covid-19 for members in local government.

The motion is as follows:

“Throughout the pandemic we have received information on national and Highland wide numbers infected with Covid 19. However as powers to implement lock downs and restrictions are moving to more local areas l, we believe we require more localised information.

We are aware that detailed information is shared on a daily basis with a range of authorities, including senior council officers, but there are currently restrictions in place about who this is shared with such as with elected members.  This has a detrimental impact on our ability to plan, make informed decisions, and provide advice and reassurance to our communities.   

This Council calls on the First Minister to reconsider the flow of information from the Scottish Government Resilience Rooms to local authorities, and to review the current protocols to enable more timeous and appropriate sharing of information to enable enhanced partnership working with the SG and resilience partners and, critically, improved local decision making and representation.”