ARGYLL and Bute councillors had the chance to meet with the new president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) at their meeting on Thursday 25 October.

David O’Neill took the helm at COSLA following an election in June this year, and visited Kilmory along with chief executive Rory Mair as part of a drive to increase engagement with local authorities.

They outlined COSLA’s role before councillors enjoyed a lively question and answer session with Mr O’Neill. This covered a wide range of topics, including council tax levels, the number of councils in Scotland and even touching on the independence debate, before Mr O’Neill and Mr Mair joined council leader Roddy McCuish for lunch.

Following the meeting, Councillor McCuish said: “It was great to have the opportunity to meet with David and Rory. The good-natured discussion between all councillors which followed was extremely interesting, and we look forward to working with David in the future in his role as COSLA president.”