BY THE time some of you are reading this, we will have a new government and two newly elected MPs for East Lothian.

I have already utilised my vote via post (and before you ask, I won’t be revealing who for) but whatever your politics, the ability to hold free and fair elections in a civilised democracy, and know that the results will be respected, is something we can be enormously thankful for.

I look forward to working with our two newly elected MPs for East Lothian on many of the issues which are raised by you on a regular basis. All the elected members in our community are an important part of our democratic society and sacrifice much for the good of others. I would always encourage you to raise issues in your community with your elected members, be it in community council forums or individually, particularly if you don’t feel comfortable coming directly to the police.

On this note, I was pleased to attend the Association of East Lothian Community Councils' meeting at The Fraser Centre in Tranent on Wednesday, June 19. It was encouraging to see a good turnout of members and we had some good discussions on many issues such as anti-social behaviour which are central to the work of my community policing teams around the county.

If you are new to the area then I would advocate getting involved to support your local community council, which in turn has a place on one of the six Community and Police Partnership forums and allows local issues to be raised for the attention of a wide range of partners.

I have also been involved in further follow-up meetings to address anti-social behaviour linked to free bus travel for young people, which I recognise is a key issue for many communities but often concerns young people from elsewhere travelling into East Lothian. I understand the 101 service can be busy at times but please continue to report issues of anti-social behaviour or associated criminality via the range of options at scotland.police.uk/contact-us

June 19 was also notable in that it saw the running of Exercise Puma, which tested the off-site nuclear emergency arrangements in place for Torness Power Station. The exercise was co-ordinated by EDF Energy, along with Scott Kennedy and his emergency planning team at East Lothian Council, and involved a wide range of emergency services, along with local and national partners from across Scotland and the UK.

The event showed that, should the worst-case scenario occur at Torness with a real-life radiation leak, then there is a tried and tested plan in place to deal with the situation, and I want to take this opportunity to thank Scott and his team for their efforts in organising a very effective test and looking after a large number of people with hospitality on the day.