It is one of my pleasant duties as Convener of Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar to introduce this Annual Report which provides details of the important work undertaken by the Local Authority for the Western Isles.

This report covers the first full year of the Comhairle elected in May 2003 and as you can see, we have set ourselves an ambitious, though achievable, programme of goals for the current term.

Community Planning continues to lie at the heart of our strategies for the development and improvement of the Western Isles. It is only by working with our partner agencies that we can achieve our goals and provide the best level of services possible for our communities. The Comhairle plays the lead role in Community Planning and will continue to develop services and seek to provide the best quality of life possible for the people of our Islands.

We already have much to be proud of and I firmly believe that the Western Isles offers a quality of life second to none. We live in one of the safest parts of the UK, we have a unique culture and heritage and our traditions in such areas as the arts, cuisine, education and community spirit serve us well. In addition, and importantly, we and our partners have a vision for the future of the Islands. Developing that vision and achieving our goals will not be easy. As always, there is much that can be improved and we face major challenges. Our population level continues to be a source of major concern and the economy remains fragile. Nevertheless, by working together and building on our strengths I believe we can face these challenges with some optimism. We have already seen how Community Planning can provide success for the islands with the location of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Consumer Direct centre in the Islands bringing with it around 30 local jobs. By taking forward our economic regeneration strategy ‘Creating Communities of the Future’ I believe we can repeat that success. We will also continue to develop our other priority areas such as Community Well Being, Culture and Heritage and Lifelong Learning.

Underpinning all of the Comhairle’s work is a determination to provide high quality services for the communities that we are privileged to serve. This report describes the work of the Service Committees and lists some of their main achievements. We should not forget that day in, day out, the Comhairle provides services for a wide range of people throughout the community, whether it be in Education, Social Work, Housing, Transportation, Arts and Leisure, improving the Environment or Economic Development. I would like to pay tribute to the work of the Comhairle’s employees in taking forward the priorities and aspirations set out by the Members of the Comhairle. I also wish to thank my Councillor colleagues for their continuing contribution and support in developing our priorities, policies and programmes. The work goes on.