West Lothian Council Inside News Winter 2025

Insidenews
December 2025 - Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk
WinterReady
Operational Services Staff have been working hard
to ensure West Lothian is able to deal with the
worst of the winter conditions.
Read more on page 4
Your Council Your Say
Budget Consultation
P5
Your Say Budget
Consultation
Save on your
P8
Christmas shopping
through Employee Benefits
P10
Delivering the Promise in
West Lothian

Welcome to the final edition of Inside News for the year.
As we are now in the final weeks of 2025 I would like to thank you all for
your dedication in continuing to deliver essential services for the people of
West Lothian. Your ongoing efforts are deeply appreciated by everyone in the
Executive Management Team.
I
n the final quarter of the year the
council launched its ‘Your Council
Your Say’ consultation, seeking views of
West Lothian residents to inform the
council’s annual budget setting process.
Colleagues from across the council put in a
great deal of effort to enable this process.
In this edition of Inside News you can read
about our apprenticeship programme.
I’d like to personally welcome our new
apprentices to the council and hope
they enjoy their experience working with
building services and Operational Services.
Staff Choir
are on song
T
The Civic Centre based staff
choir, which started rehearsals
in October, is now firmly in the
Christmas spirit and bringing a little
bit of festive cheer to Tuesday lunch
times. It has been great to bring
together people from different
services, to make connections away
from our desks and see how much joy
music can bring to people.
We are very much looking forward to
our first performance at the Christmas
service in December.
There’s still time to join, no
experience necessary and everyone is
welcome.
staffchoir@westlothian.gov.uk
You can also read about some excellent
work from colleagues in Social Policy who
have delivered significant progress in adult
protection services in West Lothian and
have once again supported the rights of
women and children through the annual 16
Days of Action campaign.
There are numerous examples of festive
spirit in this edition of Inside News and
the generosity of our staff is certainly on
display with significant gift donations
going to charity via Advice Shop, Corporate
Services and Housing Customer and
Building Services.
Finally, I know there will be plenty of
people working over Christmas and New
Year to ensure service continuity and that
our most vulnerable people in society
are looked after. Many thanks for your
continued efforts.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a
happy and healthy New Year.
Graham Hope
Chief Executive
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2 insidenews / Winter 2025
Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Tackling Roadside Litter Together
Colleagues from Operational Services helped launch a cross border campaign to tackle roadside
litter in Falkirk and West Lothian.
E
nvironmental charity Keep Scotland
Beautiful partnered with Falkirk Council,
West Lothian Council, West Lothian Litter
Pickers and McDonald’s to deploy a suite of
posters, bin wraps and a billboard, to curb the
issue of roadside litter.
91% of people surveyed agreed that roadside
litter creates a negative impression of Scotland.
More than half agreed that there is more
roadside litter in Scotland than there was 12
months ago.
This new local campaign aims to raise
awareness of the litter issue and reduce litter
generated by drivers on the A801 encouraging
drivers to bin their litter responsibly or take it
home.
Strategy Officer Paul Mallis said: “Littering is
a choice and it’s a choice none of us should
ever be making. It’s important to stop making
excuses for littering and for those that litter.
“Everyone knows that roadside litter is an issue,
people think they are invisible and can get away
with throwing away litter while driving or after
stopping dumping it in a layby. The message
from West Lothian Council and our partners
is simple - Put your litter when you reach your
destination in a street litter bin or, if there isn’t
one nearby, keep it until you reach the nearest
bin or simply take it home and recycle it.”
If you want to get involved in supporting
Operational Services efforts to keep West
Lothian free from litter, visit our webpage.
CSC delivering
Christmas joy
The Customer Service Centre
(CSC) Team have once again
gone the extra mile this festive
period.
T
he team has once again coordinated a
collection for Delivering Joy at Christmas
Campaign 2025. The Dunelm campaign allows
individuals to donate a gift for a vulnerable
person in the community, this Christmas.
The efforts of the CSC team will see 119 presents
donated to those most in need this Christmas
ranging from young children to the elderly
(there are even some presents for cats and
dogs!)
The team in the CSC have also organised a
foodbank drive with multiple bags of donated
food items set to be delivered to West Lothian
Foodbank
Well done everyone!
3 insidenews / Winter 2025
Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

WinterReady
Winter is well and truly here and staff in Operational Services have been working hard
to ensure they are ready to deal with winter conditions. When you think of winter, one
of the first things you might think about are our gritters out on the roads battling snowy
conditions. However, have you ever thought about the team behind our vehicles?
O
ur dedicated team in Fleet Services
work round the clock to try and keep all
of our winter maintenance vehicles on the
road to allow roads operatives to treat priority
roads and footpaths keeping them safe for the
public.
The mechanics in fleet have around 1000
vehicles to take care of all year round.
However, when winter comes calling the
priority shifts towards our fleet of gritters, mini
tractors and specially adapted vans.
With these vehicles required to treat over
1,000 km of roads and around 1,300 km of
footways to during the winter months, you
can see the significant challenge the fleet
team faces to keep these vehicles running.
Fleet Services Manager, Scott Blyth said:
“Winter brings a significant pressure for many
teams within Operational Services and we
are no different in Fleet. Our job in the winter
is to ensure our colleagues in Roads keep
moving, so they can carry out their winter
maintenance duties and keep roads and
pathways safe. This has a domino effect that
helps our Waste colleagues collect bins and
allows Building Services to visit and carry out
essential repairs at this time of year.”
While the team works tirelessly 7 days a
week in the workshop at Whitehill, they also
operate an on-call service that can see them
out battling the worst weather conditions.
Scott Blyth added: “What a lot of people don’t
appreciate is that there are occasions where
members of the team can find themselves
out battling storm conditions trying to get
access to a broken down gritter in a remote
area of West Lothian in order to carry out
repairs. Such occasions require quick
thinking and resilience and they provide a
first-class emergency service as highly trained
technicians.”
As we move into the winter period, it is important that everyone
familiarises themselves with the council’s Severe Weather Policy.
SEVERE
WEATHER
POLICY
T
he policy is designed to help the council
maintain continuity of service delivery
during periods of severe weather and to
provide employees with a range of options
where adverse weather conditions prevent
them from fulfilling their contractual
obligation to attend work or comply fully with
normal working arrangements.
The policy covers all council employees and its
provisions will be invoked on the instruction
of the Chief Executive according to the severity
of the prevailing weather conditions and
the impact on service delivery and normal
working arrangements. The policy is available
on the council’s intranet at the following link:
Severe Weather Arrangements.
During periods of severe weather the council’s
priority will be to ensure that essential council
services are maintained while ensuring the
safety and well-being of employees.
4 insidenews / Winter 2025
Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Staff support 16 Days campaign
to end gender-based violence
The annual 16 Days of Action campaign once again saw staff in social policy shine a
light on the terrible harm cause by domestic abuse.
T
he local campaign was coordinated by
the West Lothian Gender Based
Violence Committee (GBVC) supported by
Claire Marr, West Lothian Councils GBV Lead
Officer and the Domestic and Sexual Assault
Team (DASAT). The aim is to improve
outcomes for all, raise awareness of the harm
and volume of incidents and ensure supports
are visible and accessible.
A community march marked the launch of
the local campaign on Tuesday 25 November,
starting at West Lothian College and finishing
at the Civic Centre, where a one-minute
silence was observed to honour women and
children across the world who have lost their
lives to gender-based violence.
A number of other events were held over
the course of 16 days, with staff providing
numerous in person and online events
for members of the public and agencies.
The campaign culminated in a vigil at
West Lothian Civic Centre where the local
community was invited to think about
those who have sadly experienced domestic
abuse while also celebrating their incredible
strength and courage.
Senior Manager of Children and Justice
Services, Pauline Cochrane chairs the West
Lothian Gender Based Violence Committee
and she thanked everyone who engaged with
the campaign:
“The campaign takes a great deal of effort
and coordination from DASAT, Claire Marr,
and the staff members who form the 16 days
working group. I would like to thank them
for all that they do to support vulnerable
individuals and families who are dealing with
the effects of domestic abuse.
“While the focus of 16 days helps to draw
a wider audience, it is important that we
continue to talk about the awful harms of
domestic abuse all year round. Colleagues
looking for any support and guidance to help
them work with vulnerable customers should
please contact DASAT.”
Your Council Your Say
Budget Consultation
Thank you to all colleagues for their participation in the council’s budget consultation.
Your views are vital in helping to inform and influence future decisions.
The consultation itself was a council wide effort, with representatives from a variety of
services working to develop the consultation and engage our local communities, encouraging
them to have their say. A massive thank you to all who have played their part and contributed
to this process.
With the consultation now closed, the responses are being analysed and will be reported
to Council Executive in January, followed by a series of Special Policy Development and
Scrutiny Panels. This will help inform the final decision of Elected Members come the West
Lothian Council Budget setting meeting, likely to take place in early 2026.
5 insidenews / Winter 2025 Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

First ever
West Lothian
Employability
Practitioners
Conference
Organised by the Access2Employment service, the event at Livingston
Football Club provided employment practitioners from the local
authority, third sector, and private sector, the opportunity to share
best practice and identify potential opportunities to collaborate.
O
n the day, a number of topics were
tackled, with sessions looking at the
different approaches required for key
customer groups such as adults over 25,
young people, parents and those who face
significant barriers to securing employment.
One key session delivered by social policy
professionals explored how practitioners
can ensure a trauma-informed approach is
imbedded into their employment support.
The keynote speech was delivered by
international speaker, Mike Stevenson.
Sharing his own life experiences with
participants, Mike delivered a motivational
session, challenging practitioners to explore
how creativity, change and possibility
can make a meaningful difference to the
approach to employability in West Lothian.
It is hoped this event will run on an annual
basis with the council leading the way
supporting employment in the local area.
If you or anyone you know needs career
advice, then Access2Employment team are
on hand to steer you in the right direction.
STAFF DISCOUNT WITH XCITE WL
West Lothian Council staff receive exclusive discounted membership rates at
Xcite West Lothian Leisure.
WLC employees can benefit from a cheaper price at only £33.95 per month - that’s over 20% off the
cost of the equivalent full-priced membership.
WLC employees can join online or visit any Xcite reception and present their
ID and a payslip to join at the reduced price.
6
Membership includes: Gym • Swimming • Sauna & Steam Room Access • Access to Fitness Classes
Xcite Online • Racquet Sports • Access to the Golf Courses @ Xcite Bathgate & Polkemmet Country Park
Exert HIIT Studio @ Xcite Bathgate • NEW – BOX12 Studio @ Xcite Craigswood

New apprentices
welcomed to council
The Council has welcomed 10 new apprentices who have recently started their fouryear
programme across the council’s Building Services and Operational Services.
A
pprentices across the council receive
practical and theory learning, with all
apprentices completing college work which
is combined with on-the-job training with
experienced staff.
The new recruits recently met with Head of
housing, customer and building services,
Julie Whitelaw at Kirkton Service Centre and
staff from the Organisational Development
Team who play a crucial role in supporting
apprentices through their programme.
Also, in attendance at Kirkton Service Centre
were Building Services apprentices who
are at the other end of their apprenticeship
journey having successfully completed their
programme.
Apprenticeship opportunities are regularly
made available across the council with
many of the latest intake working with
across Housing, Customer and Building
Services and Operational Services.
Council apprentices receive training via
practical and theory learning, with all
apprentices completing college work which
is combined with on-the-job training with
experienced staff.
Apprentices work across a variety of
roles including roads, horticulture, fleet
mechanic, electricians, plumbers, joiners,
plasterers and roofers. The council also
employs Modern Apprentices in officebased
roles such as Accounting, Customer
Service, the Advice Shop/Financial Inclusion
and Planning Services.
It is anticipated that information around
the next apprentice intake process will be
made available in Spring 2026. If you have
any family or friends that are interested
in apprenticeship opportunities, then
please keep checking the West Lothian
Council website, social media channels and
myjobscotland website for updates.
Through the apprenticeship programme, the council
has helped hundreds of young people get their first
foot on the ladder. I’d like to welcome all of our new
apprentices and I hope they enjoy their journey
with the council. It was a pleasure to meet with
apprentices at the other end of their journey and
hear of their experiences over the past four years. I
wish them all the very best for the next step in their
careers.
Julie Whitelaw, Head of housing, customer and building services.
7 insidenews / Winter 2025 Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Storage and
Retention Schedules
The information that we create or use within our jobs needs to be handled
and managed appropriately. Not everything we use needs to be filed. Some
information does not need to be kept, some are stored for several years, and some
are kept permanently. However, we can’t keep everything forever.
It is important that we only file what we need to keep
and file it in approved council systems so that:
We only keep what is really needed.
We can find what we need when we need it.
We can protect it.
We spend our budget only on what we need to keep.
We reduce our impact on the environment.
We reduce risks, and so on…
To understand what you need to keep, think about
whether you may need to refer to it again or need
to keep it for another reason (e.g. for audit or legal
reasons).
Where you file your work is important. The council has
a number of approved systems in place to help you file
properly. If you are unsure what to keep and where to
file it, ask your line manager or your Information Liaison
Officer. You can also refer to the council’s retention
schedules which detail what we keep and how long we
keep it for.
Regularly tidy your inbox, PC and
other areas and move what you
need to keep to an approved
council system.
File your work in the appropriate
council system.
Make sure you give your work a
proper title or name.
File it once and avoid duplicating it.
Delete or shred anything that is not
needed, such as, marketing emails,
temporary information that is used
to create a report, magazines,
emails to say ‘thanks’ etc.
Ask for help if you are unsure.
Save on your Christmas shopping
through Employee Benefits
Staff could save
hundreds of £££s
this Christmas.
Store your work permanently on
your PC, in your inbox or on One
Drive.
Store your work on personal
devices, such as, on your home PC,
personal mobile, USB stick or tablet
device.
Store your work in personal online
storage, such as, GDrive, OneDrive,
Amazon etc.
Don’t keep everything “just in case”.
Additional guidance is available on
the Records Management page of
the intranet.
The council’s Employee Benefits programme provides all council
staff with a quick and convenient way to access a huge range of
discounts across the UK’s major retailers including supermarkets,
technology, fashion, travel and much more.
With Christmas fast approaching, take a look and see what you
can save across a huge range of retailers – including: Tesco,
Asda, Sainsbury’s, ASOS, Argos, Currys, H&M, Marks & Spencer,
Morrisons, Ikea, Boots, Iceland and much, much more.
It only takes a minute to register
and access discounts
8 insidenews / Winter 2025 Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Staff HR Update News
Employee
Engagement Survey
The 2025 Employee Engagement Survey was issued in September to all employees. Thank
you to everyone who took part. Your feedback is crucial in helping the council to identify
what it does well and what it could do better to meet its aspiration of being an Employer of
Choice, as set out in our 2023-28 People Strategy.
Responses have now been collated and the high level results are provided below, with a
comparison of the previous survey result in 2024:
The 2025 Employee Engagement Survey
was issued in September to all employees.
Thank you to everyone who took part. Your
feedback is crucial in helping the council to
identify what it does well and what it could
do better to meet its aspiration of being an
Employer of Choice, as set out in our 2023-
28 People Strategy.
Responses have now been collated and the
high level results are provided below, with
a comparison of the previous survey result
in 2024:
Category 2025 Results 2024 Results Change
Workforce Planning 79% 82% -3%
Recognition 68% 67% +1%
Leadership and Management 71% 69% +2%
Involvement and Empowerment 71% 71% -
Teamwork 81% 81% -
Learning and Development 77% 75% +2%
Equality and Diversity 88% 89% -1%
Community Impact 71% 71% -
We are pleased to see improvements in several areas, and the council values the feedback on what it could improve.
More detailed results for your service will be communicated to you through Heads of Service/Service Managers over the next few weeks.
Those results will be used to facilitate discussions at focus groups within services over the coming months, and those discussions will
directly inform improvement strategies and action plans for 2026. Those action plans are important as they ensure we stay focused on the
right things throughout the year, to increase employee engagement and achieve the goals set out in our People Strategy, so participation
in those focus groups is encouraged.
Equality And Diversity Update
Workforce Profile
It is the council’s aim to have a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we
serve. A diverse workforce contributes to a positive and inclusive place to work
and helps us to understand the needs of our communities too.
Can you help and tell us more about you?
Check that your personal profile on MyHR
is up to date by following the steps below:
Log in to MyHR;
Click on the View Profile tab on the left
of the page (the little face);
Click on Sensitive Information
Add or change your profile information
Employee Equality Network
On 8th September 2025, the council
launched an Employee Equality Network.
The launch meeting was attended by
colleagues across the council who are
interested in championing equality, with
various interests relating to disability;
caring; young people; ethnicity; older
people; sexual orientation; religion; sex;
gender reassignment; pregnancy and
maternity; and armed forces.
The network will meet 4 times a year and
members will have the opportunity to
share their experiences and contribute to
the development of council policy to help
the council to continuously improve in it’s
aim to be a positive and inclusive place
to work.
If you are interested in joining the
employee equality network, please
contact the council’s equality officer
Pamela.roccio@westlothian.gov.uk
9 insidenews / Winter 2025 Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Delivering the Promise in West Lothian
A special event was recently held to celebrate care experienced young people in
West Lothian and those who support them.
T
he Promise Celebration Event was a
youth focused get together designed
by and for young people, staff, parents, and
carers marking five years since West Lothian
joined the rest of the country in pledging to
keep ‘The Promise’.
The Promise was set in February 2020
following a report by the Independent Care
Review. It declared “that all Scotland’s
children and young people will grow up
loved, safe and respected so they can
realise their full potential.”
The event at Howden Park Centre provided
a meaningful opportunity for care
experienced young people and those who
support them to come together, celebrate
progress, and strengthen connections
within the community.
With support from staff at West Lothian
Health and Social Care Partnership, young
people took the lead, organising a variety
of fun and engaging activities for everyone
to enjoy.
A number of organisations ran stalls at
the event with representatives offering
opportunities to connect with others in
the community and learn more about the
support and services available to families
with children in care.
One of the stalls was run by ‘Having Your
Say.’ One of the longest running children’s
rights groups in the country, they are
celebrating 25 years of upholding children’s
rights and ensuring young care experienced
people are part of the conversation and
have their views heard and acted on.
Other services represented on the day
included a mix of West Lothian Council
services along with public sector and third
sector partners.
Director of West Lothian Health and Social
Care Partnership, Alison White welcomed
everyone to the event.
She said: “Firstly a massive thank you to our
young people for designing and planning
such a wonderful event that celebrated the
voices and vision of West Lothian’s care
experienced young people. Thanks also to
our staff and partners who supported them
to make this possible.
“In February 2020, a national promise was
made that every child and young person
will grow up loved, safe and respected, so
they can reach their full potential. Five years
on, we can reflect on how far we’ve come
and look at how we continue to build on
the brilliant work happening across West
Lothian to ensure that collectively, services
continue to uphold the Promise.”
Extension to new West Calder High School
It’s been a busy time for colleagues across education and property with a new wing opened at West
Calder High School
The extension has increased the capacity of the school to over
1,300, providing teaching spaces over two storeys with an
accessible outdoor learning area on the roof space.
School staff and pupils welcomed invited guests to an official
opening event at the end of September, showing everyone
the result of months of hard work from colleagues across
education and partners.
West Calder Headteacher Gerry Higgins added: “We were
delighted to welcome our invited guests in to see our
wonderful new extension to West Calder High School.
“The additional quality spaces for teaching will help us to
continue to improve the learning experience we can offer our
young people.”
10 insidenews / Winter 2025
Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Pilot project to bring IT
Service Desk Changes
Over the past year, IT Services have been looking at how
our Service Desk is operating. With a small first-line
support team managing incidents, service requests and
more than 2,400 calls each month, the current model is
no longer sustainable.
After reviewing the data, feedback and performance over
several months the service will be adjusting the way our
IT Service Desk operates from
1 January to 31 March 2026.
What is changing during the
pilot?
From 1 January – 31 March 2026,
the IT Service Desk telephone line will
only be available for Major Incident
reporting (e.g., a full building offline or
a critical application outage). All other
issues should be logged through the
IT Self-Service Portal, which already
provides visibility of progress and
updates at any time. In addition to this,
we are introducing two other support
mechanisms:
1 A dedicated IT Escalation Mailbox
If there is a concern about an existing
ticket, or if a genuine escalation
is required, colleagues can email:
ITEscalations@westlothian.gov.uk
This mailbox will be actively
monitored throughout the day, with
clear prioritisation and ownership of
escalations.
It will ensure urgent issues do not get lost
and that your services have a dependable
route for escalation outside of telephone
access.
2 Strengthened two-way
communication via the Service Delivery
Manager
To ensure this pilot strengthens our
relationship with your services, our Service
Delivery Manager (Edwina McCullagh) will:
Hold regular scheduled meetings with
each service area
Bring IT updates, changes, and
service performance information to
you proactively
Gather issues, themes, risks and
escalations from your services and
ensure these are brought into IT
Services and directly to Brian Ferguson,
so nothing is missed
Provide a single point of senior
coordination between IT and your teams
This is expected to deliver major
improvements by building a more
personal, predictable and accountable
communication route.
Why this matters
The purpose of the pilot is not simply
to reduce phone calls. It is to free up
our skilled first-line support analysts to
resolve issues more efficiently and provide
a better service to our users, improving
both the speed and overall quality of the
service, while also eliminating the high
number of abandoned calls (currently
between 14% and 35%, depending on the
month). More importantly, it enables us to
operate sustainably.
Self-Service Portal Access Off-
Network
Work has been carried out to ensure the IT
Self-Service Portal is accessible externally
so staff can log incidents and requests
even when not connected to the WLC
network.
In the event you need to log an incident or
request via a personal device then you will
be able to find a link to the IT Self-Service
Portal via the home page of the West
Lothian Council website.
On the homepage, type ‘IT Self-Service
Portal’ into the search bar at the top of the
page. You should then be directed to select
a page that will contain a link to take
you directly to the IT Self-Service Portal
where you can log in and record a request/
incident as normal.
What is not changing
Major Incidents will still be reportable
by phone via 01506 282828.
You will continue to receive updates
on open tickets through
SupportWorks.
IT Services remain fully committed to
supporting every service area every
day, this pilot is about improving
reliability, not removing support.
The pilot will run for 13 weeks and
will provide meaningful data on ticket
volumes, SLA performance, customer
satisfaction and escalation trends,
allowing us to make informed decisions
about future operating models.
Thank you in advance for your support
as we take forward this important
improvement to how IT Services operate.
Our goal is simple: to support you and
your teams better, more consistently, and
more sustainably.
Our goal is simple: to support you and
your teams better, more consistently, and
more sustainably.
11 insidenews / Winter 2025 Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006

Staff News
Fond farewell:
We’re saying goodbye and best wishes to
more than a few colleagues this edition.
Best wishes to Ralph Bell (Customer and
Community Services Manager), Lorraine
Donnelly (Area Housing Manager), Sandy
Ross (Area Housing Manager), Dawn Crow
(Homeless Services Manager) who are all
set to finish their time with the council or
have recently retired. A lot of experience,
knowledge and talent within this group. You
will all be fondly missed by your colleagues
and friends Housing, Customer and Building
Services and are all wished the best for
whatever comes next!
Another very familiar face recently said
farewell to the council. Alice Mitchell
recently celebrated her retirement after 40
years working in local government in the
West Lothian area.
Alice’s career in public service began in 1985,
joining Lothian Region Council. In 1990 she
then joined West Lothian District Council’s
Finance Service before moving into a role
with Member Services
in 1995.
Alice will be dearly
missed not only by
her team in Economic
Development, but by
everyone who had the
pleasure of working
with her.
Thank you for everything Alice, enjoy your
retirement!
Congratulations:
Kerr Anderson (Senior Procurement
Officer) and his partner Della, were delighted
to welcome their daughter, Rhea Marie
Anderson who made her way into the world
on 30 November: born at 20.40 weighing 8lbs
6oz. Congratulations to both and we hope
bay Rhea is doing well!
Colleagues in Economic Development would
like to ask everyone to join them in us in
congratulating our Sustainability Adviser
Amanda, Start Up Adviser Jordan and
Business Adviser Tahrir, who have gained
their Premier Adviser Diplomas.
This is a fantastic achievement that
recognises their commitment to delivering
the highest standard of support to West
Lothian businesses.
The Premier Adviser Diploma has been
created to develop the capability of advisers
and enable them to deliver high impact
interventions, with topics covered including,
building business support relationships,
understanding economic development, and
delivering business and enterprise support.
As part of the final assessment, the advisers
carried out observed client meetings, they
would like to pass their thanks on to the
clients that kindly took part.
Well done Amanda, Jordan and Tahrir!
Welcome:
A warm welcome to Alasdair
Black who has joined the
council as our new Director of
Finance and Property Services.
Alasdair, from Edinburgh,
joined the council from the
Scottish Government in
October and has been settling into his new role.
In his spare time, Alasdair can often be found
playing taxi for his two daughters, occasionally
running, and fishing. He said: “I’d like to thank
everyone for their warm welcome to West
Lothian Council.
“It has been a pleasure getting to know
colleagues from Finance and Property and
the wider council in what has been a busy
introduction. I look forward to working with you
all on delivering positive outcomes for everyone
who lives and works in West Lothian.”
Kind staff in the Accommodation Team, Youth
Team and Housing Options have supported a
charity drive that will see children in homeless
accommodation receive a gift this Christmas.
Staff have gathered donations from colleagues
in Housing, Customer and Building Services with
support from friends at Glenmavis Bowling Club in
Bathgate. In total they have filled approximately 17
large bags worth of toys, pyjamas and other items
that will be on their way to children and young
people living in homeless accommodation and
Strathbrock Family Unit this Christmas. Well done
to all involved!
Staff from the Advice Shop service were supported by Bellsquarry Primary School pupils
to pack up donations for this year’s Festive Essentials campaign.
Over 170 bags of toiletries and other essential
items have been put together and will be
on their way to West Lothian Foodbank
thanks to the generosity of West Lothian
residents, Bellsquarry Primary School
families and visitors to the Partnership and
community centres, who have supported the
campaign by donating essential items to help
households this Christmas.
The campaign aims to provide every adult
who accesses a Foodbank in West Lothian
over the festive period with a goodie bag filled
with toiletries.The school pupils who came
along were all part of their school’s ‘Cost of
the School Day’ group and had been visited
in September by a member of the Advice
Shop team and were keen to spread the
word amongst their fellow classmates. They
enjoyed filling the gift bags and were able to
be part of the Festive Essentials campaign
helping to support others who are less
fortunate.
12 insidenews / Winter 2025 Email your news to media@westlothian.gov.uk or call 01506 282006