Inverness hosts discussion on future delivery of public services

A special meeting of The Highland Council’s Inverness City Forum is being held at the Town House, Inverness, on Tuesday 8 March to consider the future delivery of public services in Scotland. The meeting, chaired by Provost Jimmy Gray, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Inverness City Committee, will be held between 6 pm – 8 pm.

Inverness is the latest stop for the Christie Commission, which has been asked by the Scottish Government to develop recommendations and to report by the end of June.

In these discussion events, they are looking to hear views and evidence on the following general questions:

In advance of the public meeting, Commission members will meet a number of groups, including frontline staff from key public agencies as well as Highland Councillors and members of the Inverness Partnership. 

Provost Gray said: “We are pleased to be hosting this discussion event and encourage local people to come along and voice their views on how best to deliver efficient and cost effective services tailored to the needs of the public.” 

Campbell Christie, Chairman of the Commission, said: “The Discussion Events are a crucial part of our Commission process, giving us the chance to hear at first hand the views and concerns of people across Scotland.  We're well aware that many of the issues in Inverness and the Highlands are going to be different from the central belt, so I'm expecting our public meeting on Tuesday 8 March to be very useful and informative.  We're very grateful to The Highland Council and other local partners for helping to set this up.” 

At each event, the Commission will make a note of issues raised and points made, and in time these will be published as part of the formal evidence base for the Commission.  In the interests of free and frank discussion, the identity of individuals or organisations making specific points in these discussions will not be recorded.