In wake of leadership debate comments, will possible break-up of Highland Council remain a live issue under Humza Yousaf?
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE possible break-up of Highland Council was thrust into the spotlight by rivals during the SNP leadership campaign and is likely to remain a source of debate under the new regime.
It's a big issue in the region where many outwith the local authority's Inverness headquarters' area feel they get a raw deal when it comes to everything from spending on new projects to repairing the potholes which blight roads from coast to coast of what is a sprawling area.
Some simply feel too distanced from the decision-makers whose actions play a role in their lives and hark back to the days of smaller and - in their view - more accountable units of local government.
Many community councils - the grassroots bodies which often get first wind of local grumbles and feedback to Highland Council - feel powerless and, at worst, ignored.
The party's new leader, Humza Yousaf, was quizzed directly on the issue at the leadership debate hosted by the Inverness Courier with many keenly monitoring his response.
He told us then: "I'm very open to looking at whether that needs opened up and whether we could make Highland Council smaller and more localised and broken up particularly given the reach and size and scale of it.
"I deal with that at health board level where there are some challenges which are very different in Argyll and Bute to challenges in north Highland for example.
"It's not just about devolving to local government even if that structure is smaller. It's about do we get from that structure to devolving into the likes of community councils who do an incredible job up and down the country or to local community groups. Don't just give funding and the funding mechanisms to local government, they are important, they are our key partners."
He went on: "For me the most important thing is getting the resource into the hands of the people who are delivering services on the ground."
It was made a live issue by the Highland candidate, Kate Forbes, who had told an earlier debate: "Let's start by breaking up Highland Council - you heard it here first."
She echoed the feelings of many when she observed at the local leadership debate: "The issues in the middle of Inverness are fundamentally different from the issues in Wick."
The issue echoes that of concerns in some quarters that the Scottish Government too is too distant from the Highlands and focused first and foremost on the concerns of the more populous central belt.
Those with an interest in local democracy and who wish to have a greater say in the decisions that affect their everyday lives will continue to monitor the actions of the new Holyrood regime and will doutbless be only too happy to remind the SNP leader of his earlier words should they feel the need.
