THIS week's councillor column comes from Independent councillor for the Lomond North ward, Cllr George Freeman.

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I HIGHLIGHTED in a previous column the difficulties in obtaining information relating to Covid-19 statistics within my Lomond North ward and across Argyll and Bute.

My concerns on this had been raised when I discovered that the death rate from Covid-19 in the Argyll and Bute Council area was more than three and a half times higher than the figure for the Highland Council area, but that this was information that the council, the health board and the Scottish Government did not appear to be keen to make public.

Thankfully things have moved on and following pressure from a number of quarters, more local information on Covid-19 is now being made available.

READ MORE: Further death linked to Covid takes Argyll and Bute total to 75

Readers will be aware that, as far as Covid-19 restrictions are concerned, many local authorities have now been moved up to Level 4, which has increased significantly the restrictions that apply to these areas.

While Argyll and Bute Council remains at Level 2, our neighbours in West Dunbartonshire are now at Level 4. Unfortunately this has a major impact on those living in the Helensburgh and Lomond area, as travel to West Dunbartonshire is now virtually banned.

This means that the large number of people who travelled to Dumbarton for shopping on a regular basis are now barred from doing so. Unfortunately, it now feels, to me and others I have spoken to, that we are marooned on a small island for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this will change soon.

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THERE has been a great deal of focus recently on comments by the Prime Minister that appear to indicate that he believes that devolution has been a disaster.

Like me, most people welcomed devolution and believe that it has been a positive move. Most people support devolution of power from Westminster to Scotland and the benefits this brings.

READ MORE: Your letters to the Helensburgh Advertiser: November 26, 2020

While we continue to hear calls from the Scottish Government for further devolution, it is unfortunate that the Scottish Government does not practice what it preaches.

While many powers have been devolved to the Scottish Government, in Scotland, we have seen powers centralised within Edinburgh by the Scottish Government, with reduced freedom for local authorities to take decisions at a local level.

I believe that this has to change, and that all political parties should commit to devolving powers to local authorities prior to the Scottish Parliament elections next year.

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