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The Council’s Welfare Rights Team helped vulnerable people across �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute to access almost £1 million of additional income during the first three months of 2018.   Thousands of people across the UK are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to, and �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute is no exception. However, the first quarter of this year saw �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council’s Welfare Rights Team help those eligible to receive an additional £911,956 – the highest figure ever achieved in the area.

People living in �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute are being given the opportunity to make their homes more energy efficient as a result of the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Scheme (HEEPS: ABS). �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council has been awarded a grant of £1,675,930 to help residents make energy efficiency improvements to their properties such as external/internal wall insulation, underfloor insulation, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.

�鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council’s Policy Lead for Islands has spoken about what the recent granting of Royal Assent to the Islands (Scotland) Bill, means for our island communities.   Councillor, Robin Currie, who is also Chair of the �鶹��Ѱ� Islands Strategic Group, said: “The passing of the Bill paves the way for more powers to be devolved to our island communities.  

The �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council Film Office were thrilled to work in partnership with �鶹��Ѱ� Estates and Storyvault Films to bring Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year to Inveraray this week. Filming for the fifth heat of the 2018 competition will be aired on Sky Arts at a later date. And Daneille Graham, Series Producer with Storyvault Films, Inveraray Castle on Loch Fyne was a fantastic location for the popular series.

Contractors working on the £12million Dunoon Queen’s Hall project have completed their official ‘handover’ of the building to �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council. This important step in the process means the fantastic new facility remains on track to host its first public event on Friday, July 27 – a concert by Skipinnish, swiftly followed by ABBA Mania on Saturday, July 28, and a sold-out performance by The Proclaimers on Friday, August 3.

Residents of �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute are being encouraged to take a few minutes to fill in a short consultation on a ‘Rural Growth Deal’ for the area. �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council, along with public, private and voluntary sector partners, is putting together a bid designed to attract UK and Scottish Government investment, through a rural growth deal.

For anyone affected by the tragic events on Bute this week, support is available through ParentLine Scotland, which is run by Children 1st.

People in �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute should keep their Eyes Open for children at risk during the school holidays. In the week that schools sound the end of term bell, Child Protection Committees across Scotland are encouraging the public to be extra observant to help protect potentially vulnerable children when school’s out for summer.

Pre-5 children across �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute are being given the opportunity to learn to ride a bike thanks to �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council’s Road Safety Team.   The council currently offers iCycle training to all primary six and seven pupils, but over the last few years officers have noticed a gradual increase in the number of young people who cannot ride a bike by this stage.  

  �鶹��Ѱ� and Bute Council has agreed an investment of £100,000 to support the national and international growth of the area’s food sector. At its meeting today (Thursday 28 June), the council agreed in principle to provide Bute Islands Foods Ltd  with financial support to expand its vegan cheese business. The company produces a range of dairy free vegan cheese products under the brand “Sheese”. The products are already stocked by several large UK retailers and exported to the EU and rest of the world.