Across West Dunbartonshire, residents have once again rejected the politics of fear and xenophobia. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote in the EU election, and for the massive backing you gave to the SNP’s positive message of support for Scotland in Europe.

It was particularly pleasing to see that parties across the whole of the UK who were clear in supporting the UK remaining in the EU won the election; 56.4 per cent of UK voters voted for the SNP, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Change UK, and in Scotland it was even better with the figure rising to 61.6 per cent.

But Scotland continues to be choked by UK austerity, and while MPs obsess over Brexit and who will be the next Tory leader and ignore the very real societal problems we have, your SNP Scottish government and council are doing everything we can to mitigate the worst effects of toxic Westminster politics on our communities.

This is a time of huge political and social turmoil, making it more important than ever that you’re informed about what elected representatives are doing.

Read more: Cllr Jonathan McColl: Reserves will help us survive tough times

Aside from our regular tweets, Facebook posts and press releases, the council have made it even easier for you to find out what’s happening. Anyone can listen live to council and committee meetings via our website, and recordings of our meetings are available online for six months. More and more people are listening to our live streams and recordings, becoming more politically engaged and informed.

Our regular listeners will know that the council has taken a huge step forward in formally agreeing the first stage of the SNP’s four year campaign to tackle holiday hunger. To ensure that more pupils than ever before will be able to access food and fun activities during the summer holidays, existing groups will be directly invited to expand their provision.

After the summer break we will be opening up applications to allow any existing and new groups to apply for even more funding to provide an increased service for our children and young people through other holidays.

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On June 19 we’ll be launching our £500,000 Year of Young People Legacy fund, with a special meeting being called in June to agree the criteria and process for groups to access money. Groups will be able to apply for up to four years’ funding in a single application and they’ll even be able to use the money for core costs such as staffing and property costs. I’d encourage groups to keep an eye on the council’s live streams, social media and the Reporter for details.