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As a serving councillor, I am aware that a lot of benchmarking goes on and that councils tend to be placed in council families. Is putting councils into such categories with other similar councils an appropriate basis on which to determine the total number of councillors? Are you aware of your council’s classification? Do you agree with the grouping that you were placed in? We will start with Margaret Davidson.

Is placing councils in categories with other, similar councils an appropriate basis on which to determine total councillor numbers, taking into account diversity, rurality and deprivation? Are you both aware of your council’s classification, and do you agree with how you have been grouped with other councils?

Good morning, everyone, and thank you, convener, for the opportunity to address the committee.

As the very new MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, I found it imperative to speak in support of the petition’s desire for significant improvements to the A77, as the majority of the single-lane section of the route lies within my constituency boundaries. Given how often I travel the route, I know first hand of the frustration at being stuck behind a convoy of heavy goods vehicles or at the delays and lengthy diversions via rural road infrastructure that are caused by scheduled road repairs or serious accidents, which can, in some cases, result in agony and heartbreak with the report of another fatality. Sadly, as the convener has said, we have in recent weeks lost yet more lives along this stretch of road, and I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families involved.

I also fully understand that the geography of the stretch south of Ayr is as challenging as it is beautiful. At places, the road hugs the coast and offers the most spectacular views, but at times it also offers the most frustration, with driver impatience causing rash decisions that sometimes have serious consequences. Several years ago, while travelling the route to my caravan with my five-year-old son in the car, I experienced a near-crash when a driver frustrated by a slow-moving lorry decided to overtake and I found myself hurtling head-on at his vehicle. Thankfully, the driver managed to nip back in front of the HGV and I kept control of the car, but 17 years later, I can still recall those feelings of helplessness and terror.

Like the folk of Maybole, I am delighted with the progress of their much sought after and anticipated bypass, and I know what benefits they will see from this huge infrastructure investment. Currently, large HGVs crawl through the town mere feet from pedestrians and buildings, which makes it difficult for residents or visitors to enjoy the historic town. The bypass has enabled a multimillion-pound town centre regeneration project to kick off. I know that, along with greatly improved air quality, which is massively important, the town will see a renaissance of town centre vibrancy.

Many other small towns and villages, from Minishant to Kirkoswald and from Girvan to Ballantrae, see their daily lives impacted by the high volumes of HGV traffic en route to the port of Cairnryan. It is imperative that improvements are made that will mean that tourism, trade and commerce continue unimpeded but local lives are protected and communities are nurtured.

I fully understand that we need to await the publication of the strategic transport projects review 2 recommendations. I hope that we will see significant investment in the south-west—that is long anticipated and much needed. All options need to be on the table, including moving freight on to rail and off the roads, dualling, bypasses and additional crawler lanes. In this new, Brexit era, the A77 and the A75 are the gateway routes to the European Union, and we cannot overestimate their importance.

Thank you for your response—I have a wee further question.

Thinking about local economies and the huge spending power that councils have, how can the Government support councils to enable them to encourage local community wealth building? Could that be done through reforms to procurement? There is a huge amount of spend in local authorities’ budgets. Could you talk a little bit about that, please?

I have a wee supplementary. Under your leadership, COSLA had its first job-sharing role for a spokesperson. That had never been done before, and it goes without saying that such a move allows local authorities to look at the levels of change in their own areas. It is incumbent on us all to increase representation from different groups. I just want to put that on the record.

I want to explore further the issues with diversity that you have talked about. As a former member of COSLA’s barriers to elected office working group, I am aware of all the work that is being done in the background by COSLA and by councils in general to increase the representation of under-represented groups in our councils. You have already touched on the outputs of that working group. Can you expand a little bit more on those today?

What progress is being made on the review of grant subsidy benchmarks and will there still be a differential between councils and RSLs? Are you confident that revised benchmarks will allow councils to meet the shared ambitions of the Scottish Government and local authorities to tackle poverty, inequality, homelessness and climate change?

President, you have mentioned community wealth building quite a few times in your evidence this morning. In a recent letter to the committee, the Scottish Government said:

“We intend to introduce Community Wealth Building legislation during the current session to encourage the model’s wider adoption across Scotland. Part of this will be removal of any impediments experienced by local authorities and other ... ‘anchor’ organisations seeking to advance a wellbeing economy.”

What is COSLA’s understanding of those impediments? What more can the Scottish Government do to help remove such barriers?

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am still a serving councillor on East Ayrshire Council.

What are your views on the role of local government in Scotland’s economic recovery from the pandemic? What actions are required, and how can those be taken in such a way that there is no further increase in inequalities? We know that the impact of the pandemic has been heavily gendered. I welcome your views on those questions.

I will ask about the affordable housing supply programme. We know that Scottish councils share the ambitious target of delivering 50,000 affordable homes over the next five-year term and that they have warmly welcomed the five-year resource planning assumptions that give them some certainty over their plans. However, what evidence does the Scottish Government have on the increasing costs of building new homes and the extent to which that might affect the progress of the affordable housing supply programme? How will that be monitored and reviewed over the next five years?