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Hebrides   Shop

 

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Stornoway

BALTI

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Authentic Indian Restaurant & Takeaway

 

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24 South Beach Street

Stornoway

01851  706116

 

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Council’s commercial operations unit to be abolished           17/11/09

 

 

Western Isles Council’s commercial operations unit (COU) will be effectively  abolished and taken over by the authority’s Technical Services Department.

 

The unit which runs the council’s arms-length business of commercial and technical trades fell into the red by an estimated £ 365,000 last year according to leaked figures.

 

There is serious concern for the future of the services. A review to be held over the next year will assess if  the council continue to try and run its own skilled trades business which competes with local contractors.

 

Today staff were told that the service needed a huge overhaul in a desperate effort to stem the massive losses.

 

The different trades and work being run as a separate business entity by the commercial unit will now be managed by the council’s own technical bosses. It means the existing COU structure will dismantled.

 

A council spokesman confirmed: “The Comhairle has decided that a re-organisation of services is necessary because financial issues have not yet been satisfactorily resolved, although there are indications that things are improving.

 

“The Comhairle is moving ahead with integrating the COU within the Technical Services Department.

 

“The operations and work currently undertaken by the COU will continue.

 

“A business plan will be developed over the next 12 months to examine in detail the business case for retention and development of the services provided by the Building Maintenance STO and the other trading organisations.

 

“An improvement plan will also be put in place to improve operations.

 

“The meeting this morning was to explain these developments and how they will proceed.

 

“The changes will, of course, be subject to close consultation with Trade Union representatives, the STO/TO (individual commercial trading organisations) Member/Officer Working Group and the Comhairle's Committees.”