Argyll and Bute Council continues to foster close working relationships with its public-sector partners, including Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Evidence of the development of these partnerships was heard at this month’s Community Services Committee.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Local Senior Officer, James McNeill, presented members with a consultation entitled, “Your Service, Your Voice, Your Say”.

The report encourages people in Argyll and Bute to make known their opinions about the future direction of the service as the nature of firefighting and rescue operations in Scotland continues to change.

One of the most striking and significant figures contained in the report is the 55% drop since 1994 in the number of fires taking place within Scotland.

The report also states there is a requirement for a transformation of the service, which in turn is the reason why there is a call for Argyll and Bute residents to respond to the planned transformation strategy.

In addition to the consultation report, Mr McNeill presented the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s third quarter report to the committee. Among a range of statistics, Mr McNeill highlighted a 36% drop in the total number of fires which have taken place in the council area in the reporting period compared to the corresponding period last year.

Committee members also heard how the overall number of crimes recorded within Argyll and Bute continues to decrease, according to the latest quarterly report produced by Police Scotland as part of its Local Policing Plan for the area.

When compared with the five-year average for Argyll and Bute, the total number of crimes recorded in the last three months of 2017 is down by 24.5%. In the year to date, when compared to the same period last year, the change is less dramatic, but has still fallen by 1.1%.

The report painted a largely encouraging picture of the efforts made by Police Scotland to both reduce the number of crimes committed within the council area and to improve detection rates where crimes have taken place.

Chair of the Community Services Committee, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly said: “I commend the work done by both the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland in keeping the residents of our communities safe.

“Argyll and Bute Council has an excellent, close working relationship with the both the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland. These partnerships are first-class examples of how shared priorities and clear, open lines of communication enable public sector organisations to work together effectively, exactly as they should do.”