Rangers' return to the Scottish Premiership after a four-year absence has increased the sense of anticipation ahead of the new campaign.

The restoration of the Old Firm rivalry with Celtic over the course of a whole season, rather than one-off cup games, has the potential to provide an additional competitive dynamic to the title race.
But how has Rangers' absence from the top flight affected Scottish football as a whole since 2012?
And what will be the likely impact of their return - in a sporting, financial and cultural context?
Will they be universally welcomed back? Will the traditional narrative of Scottish football be swiftly restored, or a completely new chapter written?
The overall average attendance figures for the top-flight dropped during Rangers' absence, with the Ibrox side's large travelling fan base filling away grounds in the lower leagues instead.
The average attendance fell from 13,861 in 2011-12 to 8,806 in 2014-15, before rising again last season to 9,764.
That trend was mirrored by some clubs, with Celtic's average home attendance dropping from 50,904 in 2011-12 to 44,849 last season. Yet other clubs saw their average home attendance rise, most notably Aberdeen, with 9,296 in 2011-12 to 13,094 last season.
Hearts and Hibernian also saw their average attendances rise, with the Tynecastle club maintaining that with regular full houses in the Championship and in their return to the top-flight last season.
So overall attendances are likely to climb again with Rangers returning to the top-flight, not least because individual rivalries have been put on hold - Rangers last played Aberdeen in January 2012.
In terms of Rangers' home support, season ticket sales have increased from 37,339 last season to 41,931 this term.
"It will be good for the players and the fans to have those big games back," said Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack.
"I've seen it over the years, it's always been big games at Ibrox and Pittodrie when Rangers and Aberdeen met. It will be no different this year and something that we're looking forward to.
"You can see that Rangers coming back into the league is going to make it more challenging. We know it's going to be a big task, but the belief in the squad is there and there's no reason why we can't challenge."
Additionally, the average goals per game in the top-flight has broadly risen over the last four years, compared to the four that preceded it.
Celtic have remained the dominant side in Scotland's top league, despite an improving challenge by Aberdeen. In the four seasons that the Ibrox side have been absent from the top-flight, Celtic have won the title by 16, 29, 17 and 15 points respectively.
Aberdeen and Hearts will contend that they will continue to press Celtic at the top of the league, and Rangers' intention is to add to that dynamic. Season ticket sales at Celtic have risen this summer, in part because of the arrival of Rodgers but also the return of the Old Firm fixture and rivalry.
Asked at his Friday media conference if the return of Rangers makes it a more attractive league, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers replied: "I don't see it as that.
"I came to Scottish football because of Glasgow Celtic, one of the great clubs of the world.
"Celtic-Aberdeen has its own history as well, Celtic-Hearts; they all have their own meaning.
"But of course the Celtic-Rangers derby is a big game."
The immediate impact is clear, since clubs can expect home games to be sold out or close to sold out when Rangers are visiting.
There was some disquiet when the fixtures were released, though, with Partick Thistle, Motherwell and Hamilton all calculating that they will lose out on around £150,000 in revenue since they are playing Celtic and Rangers once each at home, and twice away before the split, while other clubs will host both Old Firm teams twice.
Rangers are also expected, given the relative strength of their Championship-winning squad and a budget that outstrips all but Celtic in the Premiership, to be challenging at the top end of the table.
That will make it more difficult for middle-ranking clubs to secure a top-six finish.
In general, though, players, as well as league and club officials, welcome the return of a high-profile club back to the top-flight.
Hamilton chairman Les Gray, whose team travel to Ibrox on Saturday in the Premiership opener, said: "Largely speaking, Rangers bring full houses to everywhere they go and they will bring something to the league.
"From our point of view, having Rangers back adds to the excitement. It makes it more difficult for clubs like us to stay in the league but that is part and parcel of the league.
"We've got to beat the teams round about us and anything else is a bonus."
Ross County and Rangers have never played in the same league at the same time and the Staggies' chairman Roy MacGregor is relishing taking his team to the south-west of Glasgow.
He told BBC Scotland: "Ibrox is the only ground that Ross County haven't been to, so that will be a nice experience in September when we go there for the first time.
"I think it's refreshing to have them back there. We were just in the league when they were put out of the league and dropped to the Third Division so we didn't really have a view on what was happening at that stage.
"I think Scottish football has generally missed them and I think on that journey back from the Third Division to the Premier League I've been particularly encapsulated by their fan base.
"I think the fans got a really raw deal by their directors in what happened and I think they were very loyal. They went to all the grounds around Scotland.
"They did it the right way and they worked themselves back up through the league and I'm delighted for the fan base that they got their team back in the top half.
"I think the league will be stronger for it. I think the financial value of the league will be stronger with Rangers back and we need to be in Scottish football wanting our better clubs to be better."
St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright reckons Rangers have a stronger squad than last season and believes they "could mount a challenge" for the title.
For Dundee captain James McPake "it's another stronger team in the league, but we're hoping to be stronger as well".
"It's a challenge, but a positive challenge," he said.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle captain Gary Warren stated: "When Rangers come into the league, it's always one of the first fixtures you look at as a player.
"You look forward to these games, you look forward to going to Ibrox and testing yourself against the top players.
"It will be good for the league itself, hopefully it puts Scotland a bit more on the map again in terms of the Celtic v Rangers derby. It's the strongest the league's been, and they're one of the main reasons."
The Scottish Professional Football League have filled their major sponsorship contracts and have a long-running deal in place with broadcasters, so there won't be an immediate uplift in commercial revenue.
Even so, the return of Rangers brings additional profile and opportunity for the league itself, with renegotiations likely to result in an increase in income.
"If you go back to the period before Rangers left the division, there's a chance of an imminent return to those values," said Alan Ferguson, a sports marketing consultant.
"But most of the major sponsorship decisions that affect Scottish football are made outside the country, usually inside the M25 or M4 corridor and they have viewed Scottish football as having been on pause for the past four years.
"They now regard that it's good to go again, that Scottish football is complete with the return of Rangers, so they'll look at it differently.
"The league have sold their inventory. They have a very lucrative deal with Ladbrokes, they've re-launched the League Cup and the Challenge Cup with another sponsor. So in the shorter term they would argue that they've sold up, but over the next couple of years the revenues should rise because there is this feeling that Scottish football is back up to full speed.
"It's a mini-Souness moment, because Brendan Rodgers coming to Celtic, Joey Barton coming to Ibrox, speaks volumes for the interest that lies in Scottish football. The broadcasters, who are the main funders of the game, will be delighted because they get back four matches a year that they all fight for, namely Celtic v Rangers.
"I know some people in this country don't refer to the Old Firm, but everybody down south is and they're the games that capture the interest nationally, gives the broadcasters a return on their money, fills the pubs and the clubs who pay big money to have [live] sport."
The return of the Old Firm fixture does bring additional pressures on the likes of Police Scotland and the NHS, as well as further scrutiny of fan behaviour, with the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act currently being challenged by Labour MSP James Kelly.
"The Old Firm fixture has always lent itself to a cocktail of pantomime and poison and you cannot deny its, sadly often negative, impact on wider society," said David Scott of the anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth.
"Its return presents us with both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is one of history and the problems which have surrounded the game in the past, but the opportunity is there for the fans, clubs and governing bodies to show that we want to make progress and that the vast majority of us can leave the hate behind. "


Firefighters were called out to rescue a horse from a bog near Brora in Sutherland.

The emergency services received a call about the animal stuck in a field at West Clyne just after 21:00 on Friday.
A spokeswoman said the crews had to use "straps and manpower" to pull out the horse, which was unhurt by its ordeal.


A man has been arrested after two children were seriously injured in a stabbing in Hampshire.

The boys, aged 12 and 13, were assaulted in Havant just before 15:00 BST and are being treated in hospital.
Police said the 12-year-old's condition was life-threatening. The other boy is said to be serious, but stable.
A 43-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested at the scene of the stabbings, near the junction of Southleigh Road and Eastleigh Road.
The man is currently in custody. No-one else is being sought for the attack.
Officers were called to the area by a member of the public who reported a serious assault involving a weapon.
The children, who are from the local area, are being treated for injuries believed to have been caused by a knife.
The 13-year-old was taken to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, and the 12-year-old to Southampton General Hospital.
Hampshire Police said it was in the "very early stages" of the investigation and was "piecing together exactly what has happened".
It described the stabbings as an "isolated incident".
Ch Insp Patrick Holdaway said: "My thoughts go out to the children who have been hurt and their families.
"We're providing assistance to them at the current time and both children are being treated in hospital for their injuries.
"Our inquiries indicate that a school in the local area had an inset day, so there were not large groups of parents and children in the area when the assault happened."
A cordon will remain in place overnight to preserve evidence and there is a road closure at the Horndean Road end of Southleigh Road to allow police vehicles access to the area.
Officers are appealing for witnesses and said there would be patrols across the weekend.


Malaysian police say 139 suspected migrant grave sites have been found in 28 people-trafficking camps along the Thai border.

National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said some of the graves, found since 11 May, may contain more than one body.
They are close to an area of Thailand where trafficking camps and dozens of shallow graves were found this month.
Thailand subsequently cracked down on the routes used by traffickers to move migrants through its territory.
The operation forced traffickers to move the migrants by sea instead. But thousands were left stranded after the traffickers abandoned them and no country would take them in.
The traffickers have been using the jungles of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia for years to smuggle people into Malaysia. Most of the migrants are Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar, rights groups say, but others are Bangladeshis seeking employment in Malaysia.
"[In] the operation which we have been conducting from 11 May to 23 May we discovered 139 of what we believe are graves," Mr Khalid told reporters on Monday.
The camps were found along a 50-km (30-mile) stretch of the Thai-Malaysian border and were only hundreds of metres from the graves discovered in Thailand, he said.
Mr Khalid was speaking at a press conference a day after the government first announced the discovery of Malaysian graves. He said the biggest of the camps could have held up to 300 people.
Officials are now exhuming the bodies to determine whether they were victims of human trafficking.
'They are just bones'
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says since the Thai crackdown, they have found several people roaming in the Thai forests.
Jeffrey Labovitz, chief of mission in Thailand for the IOM, said they had screened people rescued from detention or shelters in Thailand and found some infected with beriberi - a disease caused by a vitamin B1 deficiency.
"It's people who are skeletal, they have no fat on their body they're just bones. They can no longer support their weight," he told the BBC.
"They are no longer a commodity to smugglers they're an example to others that they have to pay."
Earlier, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak said he was "deeply concerned with graves found on Malaysian soil, purportedly connected to people-smuggling". Writing on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, he promised to "find those responsible".
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says that as on the Thai side, the Malaysian camps are situated in an area with a strong military and police presence, and questions will be asked about why the authorities took no action before now - action that might have saved lives.
An investigation by our correspondent has found entire communities in Thailand helping the traffickers.
Why are so many Rohingya stranded at sea?
The perilous journey of a migrant boat that made it
The Indonesian villagers saving migrants
Since Thailand began its crackdown on smuggling routes, thousands of people have instead tried to reach Malaysia by sea, crowded onto fishing boats which are then abandoned by their traffickers.
Indonesian, Malaysian and Thailand had been turning away boats, despite worsening conditions on board and a lack of supplies.
Last week, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to provide temporary shelter to the migrants, after coming under international pressure, but asked for them to be resettled by the international community within a year.


Arsene Wenger says Arsenal's recovery in their incredible 7-5 victory over Reading in the Capital One Cup took them from "disaster to pride" .

Media playback is not supported on this device
Arsenal were 4-0 down but took the game to extra-time, with a Theo Walcott hat-trick and two Marouane Chamakh goals helping them into the last eight.
"We went from disaster to rescuing some pride," Wenger said. "You cannot play for Arsenal and give up."
Reading boss Brian McDermott said the defeat was the "worst" of his career.
Arsenal found themselves 4-0 down after 35 minutes but Walcott made it 4-1 just before half-time to set up the platform for an incredible second-half revival that took the game into extra time.
Chamakh put Arsenal in front for the first time on the night with a goal in the first period of extra time, only for Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak to make it 5-5. But Walcott restored Arsenal's lead before Chamakh scored their seventh.
"It was 4-0 and could have been one or two more," Wenger added. "We came back but at 89 minutes it was still 4-2. Then the miracle happened. There were so many turning points. Our first goal before half-time was important. It's my first 7-5. It was a tennis score."
Wenger said he knew the pain of relinquishing a four-goal advantage, having drawn 4-4 with Newcastle after being 4-0 up in February 2011. He explained that his team had drawn inspiration from their supporters.
He said: "I know how it feels to lose a 4-0 lead - it happened to me at Newcastle. I always hoped we could come back. It's strange to explain. At 4-0 you think you have won the game, but at 4-2 the panic starts to set in.
"At 4-0 I didn't feel great, I started to think about half-time. Inspiration was not difficult. I just felt sorry for the fans, they stuck with us. A big part stayed and supported us and I give them credit. I give the ones who left less credit.
Premier League, Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal, 5 February, 2011
Arsenal led 3-0 inside 10 minutes at St James' Park and 4-0 at half-time but were pegged back with Cheick Tiote's stunning late volley capping the comeback.
Champions League final, Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan, 25 May, 2005
Liverpool were down and out after going into half-time 3-0 down but scored three times in six minutes to turn the game on its head.
FA Cup fourth round, Tottenham 3-4 Manchester City, 4 February, 2004.
Spurs were 3-0 ahead at half-time before Joey Barton was sent off. But somehow City fought back and Jon Macken scored a dramatic late winner.
Premier League, Tottenham 3-5 Manchester United, 29 September 2001.
Again Spurs went in at half-time 3-0 ahead but were ripped apart in the second half by a breathtaking United performance.
FA Cup final, Blackpool 4-3 Bolton, Wembley, 2 May, 1953.
Bolton had led 3-1 and, were still leading with three minutes to go until Stan Mortensen and Bill Perry struck.
"This was maybe my greatest comeback. [The League Cup] is not my priority but had we gone out like we could have gone out it would not have been one of my proudest nights."
Reading boss Brian McDermott described the defeat as the worst of his career and identified Arsenal's first goal before half-time as the turning point.
"I wasn't happy at half-time because we went in at 4-1 instead of 4-0," he said.
"That gave them impetus they didn't need. We'd dominated the first half and then they scored a goal out of nothing.
"When you give good players and teams a lift like that, they take the chance. It was kamikaze football in the second half and extra time. Even at 5-5 it's extraordinary. It's the worst defeat of my career."
McDermott was angry that Walcott's equalising goal arrived almost two minutes after the minimum four minutes of stoppage-time had been played.
"Obviously it doesn't help that the referee added two minutes on to the four minutes of injury time to make it six," he said. "You can't tell the time as wrong as that, but he did.
"At full-time nothing needed to be said to the players. Sometimes the less said the better. We know what happened.
"This game will be remembered for a long time and that makes me feel a whole lot worse."


An investigation has been launched into alleged financial irregularities involving a Borders festival.

Members of Duns Summer Festival called in the police, saying discrepancies had come to light.
This year's festival will go ahead as planned as local residents have pledged enough money to enable the town's Reiver's Week to proceed as normal.
The celebrations in the Berwickshire town will get under way on Sunday 5 July.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Police in the Borders are investigating following a report of account irregularities by members of Duns Summer Festival.
"Inquiries are ongoing."


The man accused of murdering nine people at a South Carolina church last month will stand trial next July.

Judge JC Nicholson set a 11 July 2016 trial date for Dylann Roof, who said nothing throughout the hearing.
Mr Roof is charged with killing the black parishioners during a bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
He faces nine counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder and has not yet entered a plea.
The FBI said earlier this month that Mr Roof was able to buy a gun due to a background check failure.
He should have been stopped from purchasing a weapon due to a felony charge, but information was incorrectly entered into the computer system.
"We are all sick that this happened. We wish we could turn back time," said FBI chief James Comey.
The FBI admission came on the same day South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds in a ceremony attended by some relatives of the church shooting victims.
Mr Roof had been pictured holding the flag, which some say is a symbol of slavery.
President Barack Obama knew one of the victims, Pastor Clementa Pinckney, and gave a eulogy at his funeral.


Aberdeen defender Graeme Shinnie has signed a new contract which will keep him at Pittodrie until at least the summer of 2019.

The 25-year-old, who can also play in midfield, joined the Dons from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2015.
He has since made more than 70 appearances for Derek McInnes's side.
Shinnie told the club website: "We've a squad that is capable of winning trophies and that's what I aim to do while I'm an Aberdeen player."
The manager described Shinnie's decision as being "as important as any signing we will make" in the transfer window.
"As an Aberdeen boy, his love for the club is evident," said McInnes.
"Graeme is very protective of his career I know he sees Aberdeen as the club to develop his game and this sends out that message.
"He's been excellent since joining us two years ago and we know there is more to come from him."


The Duke of Edinburgh has unveiled a memorial to veterans who underwent pioneering surgery after suffering disfiguring injuries in World War Two.

Dr Sandy Saunders, a 93-year-old veteran who organised the memorial to the Guinea Pig Club, said it was a "fantastic" tribute.
Dr Saunders, badly burned in a plane crash in 1945, said he was proud to have helped with the tribute.
The members were dubbed Guinea Pigs because their surgery was experimental.
Prince Philip unveiled the tablet at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Dr Saunders, who had 28 operations to treat his burns, said: "I am proud that I made the effort. If it wasn't for me then no one else would have done it."
He praised the plastic surgeons who repaired his face and hands, which were badly burned in the crash of his Tiger Moth training plane near High Wycombe in 1945.
Dr Saunders said: "The plane stalled at low altitude and crashed. I was knocked out but luckily the flames woke me up."
He was 21 at the time of the crash shortly after the war ended.
The young airman was inspired by plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe and eventually trained to be a doctor spending 49 years as a GP in Sneinton, Nottingham.
The club got its name because patients had pioneering surgery in East Grinstead, Sussex, including new skin graft techniques developed by Sir Archibald.
Prince Philip has been the president of the Guinea Pig Club since 1960.
Sir Archibald also encouraged his patients to spend time in social activities, including drinking beer on the hospital wards.
"He didn't see any harm in having a beer on the ward. We were suffering from burns and shock and it was important to keep hydrated," Dr Saunders, who has retired to Leicestershire, said.
"It (the memorial) is very imaginative. I had hoped to raise the funds for it myself, but then the costs increased and my wife decided it would be better to try to raise funds by crowd funding."
Dr Saunders, who is seriously ill with cancer of the bladder and prostrate, said the memorial was a "fantastic" achievement.


A former Goldman Sachs board member has been released after serving a two year sentence for insider trading in the US.

India-born Rajat Gupta had leaked boardroom secrets to Raj Rajaratnam, a former hedge fund manager who is serving 11 years in prison.
Gupta, 67, was released on Friday, the Press Trust of India said, quoting his record at Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The US court has agreed to re-hear his appeal against his 2012 conviction, reports say.
Gupta completed the last two months of his jail term at his home in Manhattan, after being released in January from a correctional facility.
He was confined to his apartment and was required to wear an ankle bracelet that monitored his movements, the Press Trust of India reports.
During the court case, which resulted in Gupta being found guilty in June 2012, the jury heard secret recordings of conversations between him and Rajaratnam.
The trial focused on a phone call made to Rajaratnam on 23 September 2008, minutes after Gupta had listened to a private conference call discussing a $5bn (Â£3.4bn) investment in Goldman Sachs by Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway.
The deal was due to be made public after stock markets closed that day.
According to phone records, Rajaratnam bought $40m in Goldman Sachs stock moments after the phone call, earning nearly $1m.
Apart from the two-year prison term, Gupta was also fined $5m.
Gupta, who was born in India and educated at Harvard, also served on the boards of Procter & Gamble, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.


An £8.1m funding extension to mine clearance work has been announced during a visit to the south of Scotland-based Halo Trust.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel praised the work carried out by the charity while at its headquarters near Thornhill.
The funding will go towards the current Global Mine Action Programme.
It is being delivered by the trust, the Manchester-based Mines Advisory Group and Norwegian People's Aid.
It will help to make 15 million square metres of land safe again and enable 15,000 community visits to educate people - especially children - on the dangers of living with landmines.
During her visit, Ms Patel met local businesses that contribute to Britain's humanitarian work overseas, including Penman Engineering which makes armoured vehicles, Soltyre, bespoke tyre makers for rough terrain and ScotJCB, which makes heavy-duty machinery.
She said: "Landmines are indiscriminate weapons of war that maim and kill innocent children every day.
"Scottish organisations like Halo Trust are at the forefront of the UK's efforts, bringing British ingenuity, determination and bravery to save lives and make some of the world's most fragile countries safer and more stable.
"I'm pleased to have met with so many of the local companies that provide the specialist equipment Halo needs to carry out its dangerous and difficult work - they represent the best of British expertise."
Since 1988 the Halo Trust has destroyed more than 1.6 million landmines and nearly 12 million unexploded ordnance items.
It currently works in 20 countries or territories, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell also took part in the visit.
He said: "The companies working with the Halo Trust are making a real contribution to some of the poorest communities on earth - and, in doing so, are creating jobs and driving growth in Scotland.
"This is just one example of why our aid strategy is so important and why we are so proud to be meeting our commitment as a world leader in international aid."
This funding allocation is for the 2017/18 financial year.
James Cowan, of the Halo Trust, said: "Halo is tremendously proud of the work we do to save lives in some of the world's most fragile states; but we are also proud of the substantial investment we have made in local firms and businesses who supply us with their highly specialist equipment.
"All our men and women working to rid their countries of landmines and explosive ordnance are kept safer today thanks to their expertise."


Councillors in the Borders have decided to oppose plans to expand a wind farm which was the subject of a six-year opposition campaign.

They had been expected to take a view last month but deferred a decision in order to visit Fallago Rig near Lauder.
Developers wanted to build another 12 turbines and planning officers had advised the council not to object.
However, they went against that recommendation, citing the cumulative effects on the landscape.
The final decision on the project will lie with the Scottish government.


Anthony Joshua admitted it will be difficult to control his emotions when he challenges Charles Martin for the IBF heavyweight title on Saturday.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Joshua is bidding to become Britain's sixth world heavyweight champion in only his 16th professional fight.
American Martin is making the first defence of the belt he won in January.
"I'll probably go out and try to take his head off. I'm a fighter, I'm not going to dance around and evade punches," said the 26-year-old Joshua.
"I'm going to walk through two punches to give him five. When it comes to us big, heavy-hitters we don't play games. We're here to go to war."
Martin, who won the vacant IBF belt by beating Vyacheslav Glazkov, rejected the suggestion he had been lured to London's O2 Arena simply for the pay-day.
"They're paying me a lot of money, but a lot of money isn't enough money," said the 29-year-old Martin, who is undefeated in 24 pro fights.
"I'm here to successfully defend my title and go and get more money. This isn't enough to make me comfortable, this is just the beginning. My plans are enormous.
"I don't need to be in a fortress with everyone yelling my name, the only thing that matters is what's going on in his head and what's going on in my head.
"It's two big, young, heavy-hitting, hungry lions of the sport. That's what people want to see, we're bringing the heavyweight division back to life.
"I've put gallons of blood, sweat and tears into this game. We've both got the same tools, two arms and two legs, so it might come down to who wants it most."


Scottish Water has said a water supply which has prompted complaints about its quality is safe and "complies 100%" with standards.

People living in and around Aviemore in the Cairngorms say the water tastes bad and some have blamed it for aggravating skin conditions such as eczema.
Councillor Bill Lobban wants an investigation to check for a link between the water and skin complaints.
Scottish Water said it would look at enhancements to the treatment process.
There have been complaints about the water's taste since the supply came on stream four years ago.
A public meeting in Kincraig, near Aviemore, on Tuesday, which representatives from Scottish Water attended, heard from consumers who believe the water has aggravated skin conditions.
After the meeting, Highland councillor Mr Lobban said skin complaints did appear to be on the rise in the area.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: "I am not a doctor or a scientist so I cannot tell if it is directly attributable to the water or not, but it is something that requires serious investigating.
"It should not be a question of Scottish Water saying basically 'this is a medical problem, go to your doctor'.
"This should be more about Scottish Water liaising with NHS Highland to find out if there potentially is a problem or not."
Scottish Water said it already worked closely with health authorities, including NHS Highland.
A spokesman said: "If a health authority has any concerns over the safety of a water supply, it can impose restrictions on water use, until such times as the matter is investigated and dealt with.
"No restrictions have been imposed in this area and we can reassure customers the water is absolutely safe to use."
The spokesman said the company recognised that "a small number of customers in the Aviemore area" have found the water is not to their taste.
He said: "We want everyone to enjoy the look and taste of their water and continue to liaise closely with the local community, as we work to resolve their concerns.
"That's why we are proposing further enhancements to the treatment processes we use, and are proposing switching to a process called chloramination.
"This is a very well established process and one in four Scottish Water customers currently receive chloraminated water - including those in Inverness, Aberdeen, much of Edinburgh and some other parts of the Highlands and Islands."


A man arrested after a passenger flight was escorted to Stansted Airport by RAF fighter jets has been charged with fraud, Scotland Yard has said.

Khalid Baqa, 52, from Barking was charged on Wednesday with committing fraud by false representation.
The Pakistan International Airlines plane, on its way from Lahore to Heathrow, was diverted on Tuesday due to an unrelated disruptive passenger.
The plane was held in an area away from the main airport, which remained open.
Essex Police said the diversion had been due to reports of a disruptive passenger and was "not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter".
In an unrelated matter Mr Baqa was due to be arrested by police on arrival at Heathrow, but because of the disruption was held at Stansted instead.
The RAF confirmed that Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft had been scrambled from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire as the plane was diverted.
Stansted is a designated airport for dealing with hijacks and major security alerts.
Such incidents are dealt with in a remote part of the airfield to the north-west of the terminal building.


Noah and Emma are the most popular baby names in the US, according the Social Security Administration.

For the second year in a row, Noah topped of the list for boys. Liam, Mason, Jacob and William rounded out the top five.
Emma is on top again for the first time since 2008 followed by Olivia, Sophia, Isabella and Ava.
Religion and pop culture have been influences for baby naming trends throughout history.
Emma's popularity was influenced by the TV show "Friends"  in 2002 when one of the characters, Rachel, named her daughter Emma.
"In this era when trends come and go faster than ever before, that's incredible staying power," said Laura Wattenberg, founder of BabynameWizard.com. "Emma seems to be the only name that America has been able to agree on in recent years."
When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced on Monday that they were naming their baby daughter Charlotte, many, including Jennifer Moss, founder and CEO of babynames.com expected the name would hit the top in the coming years.
Even before the announcement, Charlotte cracked the top 10 for the first time, at No. 10.
John and Mary were the top baby names in 1880, the first year for which the Social Security Administration website provides an annual list.
John is now number 26 and Mary has fallen to number 120.


Wolves winger Ben Marshall is convinced that the Championship strugglers will get out of trouble if they simply keep believing in each other.

Paul Lambert's side ended ended a six-game losing run in all competitions when they drew 0-0 at Mick McCarthy's Ipswich Town on Tuesday.
They are just a point clear of trouble going into Saturday's key home game against bottom club Rotherham United.
But Marshall remains upbeat, telling BBC WM: "I'm sure we'll be all right."
Saturday's seemingly doomed Molineux visitors Rotherham are 19 points adrift of safety at the foot of the Championship table, having picked up just one away point out of a possible 54 this season.
"We've just got to keep believing," Marshall said. "I'm sure as soon as we get that win and get some confidence, we'll kick on.
"Team spirit is good. You go in the dressing room and you wouldn't think we are where we are.
"People can see the performances are there. We're just lacking someone to put the ball in the back of the net.
"We've now just got to take parts of our performance into Saturday," added Marshall, 25, who joined in January from Blackburn Rovers, now one of Wolves' main relegation rivals.
Ben Marshall was talking to BBC WM's Mike Taylor.


Andy Murdoch has joined Scottish League One side Cowdenbeath from Rangers until 5 January.

The 20-year-old midfielder made his Rangers debut against East Fife in August 2013 and was the club's young player of the season last term.
Murdoch scored against Raith Rovers in a 2-1 win at Stark's Park in February and played in all six of Rangers' Premiership play-off games in May.
The Rangers website says he is moving to gain first-team experience.


Bydd rhaglen Taith Tatŵ Dewi Pws ar S4C ar 1 Mawrth yn dilyn y digrifwr a'r canwr ar daith arbennig i sgwrsio gyda nifer o bobl sydd â rhesymau gwahanol dros gael eu tatŵs.

Un o'r rhain ydy Sarah Tyler Davies o Gaernarfon. Bu'n siarad gyda Cymru Fyw i esbonio'n fanwl y diwrnod wnaeth arwain at ei phenderfyniad i gael tatŵ:
Dwi wedi dioddef efo problemau i 'nghalon ers i fi gael fy ngeni.
Ges i fy ngeni efo congenital heart defect, sef transposition of the greater arteries. Roedd fy nghalon y ffordd arall rownd, ac felly roeddwn i'n un o'r rhain oedd yn cael eu galw'n blue babies.
Doedd y galon ddim yn gallu pwmpio digon o waed o gwmpas y corff ac felly roedd babanod yn tueddu i edrych yn las oherwydd y diffyg ocsigen.
Pan o'n i tua wyth mis oed ges i open heart surgery wnaeth drwsio'r galon am ychydig, a llawdriniaeth arall pan o'n i tua naw oed a 14 oed. Wnaeth y triniaethau hyn olygu bod fi wedi medru byw bywyd gwbl normal a llawn am fwyafrif fy ieuenctid.
Es i i'r coleg, ro'n i'n gweithio'n llawn amser, mynd allan ar benwythnosau, yfed, smocio, a ges i ddau o blant. Er bod fi'n gwybod bod fy nghalon ddim yn gwbl 100%, doedd dim rheswm gen i feddwl fod yn rhaid cymryd gofal arbennig.
Ond un dydd, chwe blynedd yn ôl, ddigwyddodd rhywbeth wnaeth 'neud i fi ail-asesu fy mywyd yn gyfan gwbl.
O'n i 'di dechra' pendwmpian ar y settee efo'r gŵr, ac roedd y ddau ohono' ni wedi syrthio'i gysgu. Ond yn sydyn wnaeth y ci ddechra' aflonyddu a mynd ati i ddeffro'r gŵr.
Drwy lwc, wnaeth hwnnw sylweddoli bod rhywbeth o'i le a dechreuodd roi CPR a mouth to mouth tan i'r ambiwlans gyrraedd. Ro'n i wedi dioddef cardiac arrest sydyn ac annisgwyl, ac oni bai am y ci, fyddwn ni siŵr o fod ddim yma heddiw.
Yn blwmp ac yn blaen, ro'n i wedi mynd. Dim pỳls, dim curiad.
Dwi'n cofio dim o'r diwrnod hynny... dim o gwbl. Ac mi gymrodd hi ryw chwech i naw mis i mi gofio beth oedd wedi digwydd y diwrnod cyn y cardiac arrest.
Ro'n i mewn coma am ryw dri diwrnod tra bod y corff yn cael amser i drwsio'i hun. Wnaeth y doctoriaid esbonio bod fy nghalon ar y noson wedi dechrau curo ar gyflymder o 400 curiad y funud... i'w gymharu gyda thua 140-160 i berson cyffredin. Doedd hi ddim yn bosib i 'nghalon i barhau fel yna am hir ac felly... mi stopiodd.
Gymrodd hi amser hir i fi ddygymod â hyn ac roedd dod wyneb yn wyneb â'r ffeithiau am fy mhrofiad wedi newid fy agwedd at fywyd, y ffordd o'n i'n ymddwyn, y ffordd fyddai'n codi'r plant, bob dim.
Nes i stopio smocio ac yfed (yn wreiddiol, do'n i ddim hyd yn oed yn cofio bod fi'n arfer smocio tan i fy chwaer atgoffa fi!)
Wnes i ddechrau cymryd gofal o'r hyn o'n i'n bwyta ac erbyn hyn dwi 'di colli tua thair stôn... dim achos mod i wedi stopio bwyta'n gyfan gwbl, jest bwyta'n gall.
O ganlyniad, rŵan mae gen i pacemaker, ac ICD, sef defibrillator, sydd yn rhoi sioc i fi os ydy 'nghalon i'n curo'n gyflymach na 210 curiad y funud. Y ddau beiriant yma sy'n cadw 'nghalon i dan reolaeth.
Ond rhyw chwe wythnos wedi'r cardiac arrest, wnaeth fy nghorff ddechrau ymosod ar y gwifrau, a thra roeddwn ni yn y gawod, dechreuodd yr ICD rhoi shocksi fi. Roedd o fel bod rhywun wedi mynd â crowbar a tharo fi ar fy mhen... fel rhyw fath o thud.
Do'n i methu dallt be' oedd o'i le.... nes i gau fy llygaid, a wnaeth o ddigwydd eto. Dyna pryd nes i sylweddoli taw'r peiriant oedd wedi mynd off.
Ar ôl cyrraedd Ysbyty Gwynedd, wnaeth y doctoriaid ddarganfod bod y peiriant wedi administratio rhyw 40-50 o shocks... mewn rhyw 15 munud, a nes i ond teimlo rhyw 15 ohonyn nhw.
Gymrodd hi fisoedd i mi ddygymod â'r newid, ac am gyfnod hir, ro'n i'n ofni fyddai'r un peth yn digwydd eto. Ro'n i mewn ofn cyson. Ar ôl misoedd o deimlo fel hyn, nes i benderfynu cael y tatŵ.
Ro'n i wedi cael un o'r blaen gydag enwau'r plant ar fy nghefn, ond hwn oedd fy ffordd i o gael rhywbeth i fi. Rhywbeth i helpu fi ddygymod â'r hyn oedd wedi digwydd, ac i helpu fi symud ymlaen.
Felly ges i datŵ efo enw fy ngŵr ar un fraich, a llun ECG o'm curiad calon efo'r geiriau 'Life goes on..' i atgoffa fi bod bywyd yn bwysig ac yna i'w fwynhau a'i brofi.
Taith Tatŵ Dewi Pws - nos Fercher, 1 Mawrth am 21:30 ar S4C


Commonwealth and European champion Jazz Carlin will lead a four strong Welsh swimming contingent at this summer's Rio Olympics.

Carlin, who missed out on London 2012, has been included in a 26-strong Team GB swimming squad.
Chloe Tutton, 19, has also been named in the squad along with Georgia Davies and Ieuan Lloyd.
But Alys Thomas and Adam Mallett miss out despite wins at the British trials in Glasgow.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Mallett was the surprise victor in the 200m butterfly final while Thomas won the 100m butterfly final at the Olympic trials.
City of Cardiff's Tutton produced a three-second personal best to secure 200m breaststroke gold.
Commonwealth 50m backstroke champion Davies and Cardiff-based Lloyd also competed at London 2012.
Carlin missed London 2012 after suffering with glandular fever in the build-up to the Olympic trials.
But since then she has gone on to claim world, European and Commonwealth freestyle honours.


A Tory MP has apologised to an SNP colleague for making a "woof" noise at her in the House of Commons.

Sir Nicholas Soames made the outburst at Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh during a statement by the Foreign Secretary on US immigration policy.
Sir Nicholas said he offered the "friendly canine salute" because he felt she "snapped" at Boris Johnson.
But he apologised after she complained the noises were "extremely disrespectful".
Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, the SNP Westminster spokeswoman for trade and investment, raised a point of order with House of Commons Speaker John Bercow after the comment.
She said: "I understand that Sir Nicholas, who has always afforded me courtesy and respect, was making sort of 'woof woof'-sounding noises to what I was saying, which I find of course extremely disrespectful."
Asked to set the record straight, Sir Nicholas, a grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, said: "I thought that in her question to the Foreign Secretary she snapped at him a bit at the end, so I offered her a friendly canine salute in return.
"No offence was intended and I apologise to the Honourable Lady if she was offended."


Residents have blocked green spaces with wheelie bins and cars amid reports of travellers descending on a town.

Several caravans are already on a field in Kesgrave, Suffolk, and word has spread on social media that more travellers were set to join the unauthorised camp on Grange Farm.
Suffolk Police said it had a "small police presence" in the area after reports of "community tension".
A police spokesman said no crime or disorder had been reported.
He said the area would continue to be monitored.
Pieces of farm machinery have also been used to block off a playing field off Millennium Way.
More than 3,000 residents have joined a community Facebook group to discuss the situation, with many people saying they have been monitoring green spaces overnight.
One said: "06.05am. Oak Meadow all clear. Thank goodness." Another posted photos of an empty Millennium field and car park.
One woman said: "When this is all over... lets have a grange farm residents BBQ/party at the millennium field... to celebrate the residents coming together during this worrying time..everyone has shown great community spirit."
Others have been discussing fears about children walking to school on their own.
The Gypsy Council has been approached for comment.


For the cynics among us, Valentine's Day is an annual nightmare: everything turns pink and heart-shaped, restaurants slap a premium price on a sub-par "special menu", and Hallmark shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank.

But beyond the cuddly toys and red roses, the tradition draws mixed reactions around the world.
From the hardline to the downright bizarre, here are just some of the ways Valentine's Day is embraced - or spurned like an unwanted lover...
Authorities in some parts of Indonesia have banned students from celebrating Valentine's Day, saying it encourages casual sex. In the city of Makassar, police raided shops and dismantled condom displays.
The mayor told the BBC that condoms were removed from sight after customers complained, but would still be sold discreetly.
Valentine's Day has its roots in a Roman fertility celebration, but later evolved into a Christian feast day - a fact that worries conservatives in some Muslim-majority countries.
In Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, pupils were told to reject the festival as it runs against cultural norms.
Next door to Indonesia, Malaysia has also seen a Valentine's backlash.
A group called the National Muslim Youth Association has urged women and girls to avoid using emoticons or overdoing the perfume, in a pre-Valentine's Day message.
The group's guidance included advice on how to combat the celebration of romance by making anti-Valentine posters and shunning Valentine-themed outfits.
Robben Island will forever be associated with the infamous prison that held Nelson Mandela - but since 2000, it has hosted a mass celebration of love on 14 February.
The tradition was started by South Africa's Department of Home Affairs and the Robben Island Museum, and now attracts couples from across the globe.
This year, 20 pairs are planning to say "I do" in the island's little white chapel.
The service is offered for a small fee, and includes a tour of the island.
Organisers say 2017's couples were "chosen by the department based on their diversity and interesting romantic stories".
Thailand's civil servants are handing out free pre-natal pills on the streets of Bangkok on Valentine's Day, hoping to boost the country's falling birth rate.
Around 1 million baht ($28,600; Â£22,900) has been spent on the pills, for prospective mothers aged 20 to 34.
The "very magical vitamins" (to use the government's words) contain folic acid and iron.
In 1970, Thai couples had an average of six children, but the figure now stands at 1.6.
The High Court in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, has banned public celebrations of Valentine's Day, saying it is not part of Muslim culture.
The festival has gained a foothold in recent years, but local critics say it is a decadent Western invention.
The court order bans the media from covering Valentine's events, and bans festivities in public places and government offices.
Saudi Arabia's religious police are on alert at this time of year for love-themed merchandise, including flowers, cards and suspicious "red items".
Florists have been known to deliver bouquets in the middle of the night to avoid detection, as determined lovers flout the countrywide ban.
A black market in roses and wrapping paper helps some broadcast their feelings.
But for others, it's the perfect time of year for a romantic break - to nearby Bahrain or the UAE, where celebrations are more tolerated.
As Japan geared up for the 14th, a group of Marxist protesters unfurled a giant "Smash Valentine's Day" banner in Tokyo.
The "Kakuhido", or Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women find Unattractive, want an end to public displays of love that "hurt their feelings".
Members have been known to chant slogans including "public smooching is terrorism".
"Our aim is to crush this love capitalism," said Takayuki Akimoto, the group's PR chief.
"People like us who don't seek value in love are being oppressed by society," he added.
"It's a conspiracy by people who think unattractive guys are inferior, or losers - like cuddling in public, it makes us feel bad. It's unforgivable!"
The protests came as Japan's family planning association revealed that "sexless marriages" in the country are at a record high.
Nearly 50% of married Japanese couples had not had sex for more than a month and did not expect that to change in the near future, it said.


After more than 21 hours, Republican Senator Ted Cruz has finished speaking against the Obama health law, amid bipartisan attempts to avert a looming government shutdown.

The Tea Party Texan's filibuster-style oratory continued through the night, after he vowed to speak "until I am no longer able to stand".
Some of Sen Cruz's own Republican colleagues accused him of political grandstanding, warning it could backfire if the government does shut down next week, as scheduled.
Congress has until 1 October to pass a temporary budget bill to keep federal agencies running.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives last week passed its own version of the spending measure.
Lawmakers in that chamber inserted a provision - largely at the behest of Sen Cruz and his Tea Party allies - that would strip funds from President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare bill.
By Mark MardellNorth America editor
Some Republicans despair of both Sen Ted Cruz's tactics and his ego. But he won't care - he has embraced Sen John McCain's description of him as a "wacko bird". Reading Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham from the Senate floor can only elevate him from Daffy Duck to Roadrunner in the esteem of his public admirers.
Some Republicans think what he is doing is either pointless or dangerous. Pointless because this is not a classic filibuster - it stands no chance of actually killing the bill. Beyond that, it is odd, because the bill he is delaying couples paying the government's bills to defunding Obamacare.
That linkage is a core conservative tactic, which Mr Cruz himself agrees with. As Dr Seuss once wrote: "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!"
That part will be removed from the version in the Senate, which on Wednesday held a procedural test vote on the matter, voting 100-0 to take up the House bill.
If, as expected, the Senate revises the House bill, the House will then have to decide whether to pass that bill or find a compromise with the Senate. They have until next Tuesday to avert a shutdown.
Sen Cruz, who began talking at 14:41 local time (18:41 GMT) on Tuesday, held the floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes, but had to yield at midday. It was the fourth-longest speech in Senate history.
Analysts say his marathon talk was a mainly symbolic gesture of defiance, rather than a filibuster - a tactic made famous by the 1939 Jimmy Stewart film, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - as it could not hold up Senate proceedings.
Republicans sympathise with Sen Cruz's attempts to neuter the health law, which they label Obamacare.
But many deem his strategy to be politically unfeasible as long as Democrats control the Senate and White House.
With an eye on next year's midterm congressional elections, a number of Republicans are also concerned that voters might blame them for the havoc that results from any government shutdown.
Forgoing his cowboy boots for tennis shoes, Sen Cruz, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, railed all night against the Obama health law, calling it the country's "biggest jobs killer" and comparing his struggle to the fight against the Nazis, or the American Revolution.
To fill the time, the first-term senator covered a range of subjects, sharing with the largely empty chamber his penchant for the mini-hamburgers at fast-food chain White Castle; quoting from a reality television show, Duck Dynasty, as well as lyrics by country singer Toby Keith; and praising a recent speech by actor Ashton Kutcher on the value of hard work.
At one point on Tuesday night, Sen Cruz read bedtime stories - including the Dr Seuss favourite, Green Eggs and Ham - to his two young daughters, who he said were watching at home.
He also poked fun at fellow lawmakers: "Almost all of us are in cheap suits with bad haircuts. Who cares?"
Several Tea Party allies, including Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, gave Sen Cruz some respite by taking to the lectern in his support.
Under the chamber's rules, Sen Cruz was allowed to give way to colleagues for long-form questions, but could not leave the floor or sit down while his speech was under way.
He took advantage of the break by strolling, stretching and leaning against desks.
But the top two Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, refused to back him.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid dismissed Mr Cruz's speech on Wednesday.
"For lack of a better way of describing this, it has been a big waste of time," Mr Reid said.


A man is being treated in hospital after he was struck by a car in Glasgow city centre.

Police said the incident happened at about 13:45 in Elmbank Street.
A spokeswoman for the force said the injured pedestrian was taken by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
His condition is unknown.


More than 1,000 people have taken part in a parade in Cardiff for one of Wales' biggest celebrations of equality.

Pride Cymru kicked off on Saturday morning joined the lively event from the city centre to Bute Park.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first LGBT march in Wales.
Hundreds of onlookers lined the city's streets and cheered as colourfully-dressed groups marched and bands played.
The march started from Churchill Way and wound its way through Queen Street and St Mary Street.
Among those watching was Daniel Williams, 21, from Merthyr Tydfil, who said: "It is the one time of year when you can be yourself."
Andy Hole, 32, from Bristol, was with 20 friends from Bristol and said: "The good thing about this event is that it brings people together, not just from Cardiff, but from all over," he said.
Vicki Adnum, 45, from Bridgend, added: "Cardiff is a very diverse city, with lots going on. It is very welcoming and this is a celebration of that."
During the event, South Wales Gay Men's Chorus sang traditional Welsh hymns.
Member Craig Stephenson said the group was showing "Welsh passion".
"It has been a great atmosphere with singing, the crowd has been great and of course the sun has helped," he said.


Teenagers have been using messaging service WhatsApp to co-ordinate violent carjackings in Birmingham, police say.

Officers believe youths, often armed with knives and in some cases stun-guns, are behind a spate of robberies in the south of the city since October.
Raids were carried out earlier during which three 16-year-old boys were arrested, and cash, a car key, mobile phones and clothing were seized.
WhatsApp declined to comment on the specific case when asked by the BBC.
Police began investigating attacks in Moseley and Kings Heath, in February.
Read more stories from Birmingham and the Black Country
In some cases, drivers were left with minor burns after being shocked with stun-gun type devices, West Midlands Police said.
About 30 carjackings are being linked, with more than 20 people arrested - including a boy aged 13. One stun-gun has been recovered.
Police previously revealed their suspicion teenage boys were being "coerced" into committing carjackings.
Det Sgt Phil Poole said: "From the phones we have seen there's been a lot of discussion or pre-planning via social media.
"They are contacting each other via WhatsApp predominantly."
It is believed the group are also sharing screen shots of press coverage between themselves, "indicating they have got knowledge and awareness of those offences," he added.
Det Sgt Poole said the majority of offences had been committed around the Moseley and Kings Heath areas in south Birmingham, but others have taken place elsewhere in the city that police have said are not linked to the 30.
Sarah Khatri spoke of her fear when two men threatened her with a blade and stole her Kia outside St Columba Church in Chantry Road, Moseley, at about 09:45 GMT on 27 March.
Another victim was sitting in her Mercedes A-Class when a group of men - one wearing a mask - smashed her driver's side window with a baton outside her Grove Road home in Kings Heath, at about 22:00 on 19 March.
The 27-year-old, who does not want to be named, managed to escape and was uninjured, but left shaken and afraid.
"It's just awful," she added.
"When I was getting ready to go to bed I was convinced they were going to get into the garden and get me."
WhatsApp did not answer whether it would co-operate with West Midlands Police.
The Facebook-owned company directed the BBC towards its privacy policy in which is stated it could "collect...and share" information if it were to have a "good-faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to...detect, investigate, prevent, and address...illegal activity".
With a billion users worldwide, the company has said previously that protecting private communication is one of its "core beliefs".
WhatsApp's encryption system came under the spotlight after the Westminster terror attack.


Facebook has deleted two accounts that used stolen photographs of a sick child to falsely claim he had cancer.

It follows complaints by the three-year-old's mother that the images had been used as part of a scam. They dated from last year when the boy had a bad case of chickenpox.
The posts claimed Facebook would donate money for surgery if users "liked" them or left comments.
One security expert warned that users who did so had put themselves at risk.
More than a million people had engaged with one of the messages since it was posted at the start of the month.
Sarah Allen, from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, believes the Facebook accounts had sourced the photos from online news stories published about her son's chickenpox in August 2016.
Jasper Allen's illness drew attention because of its severity and the fact that his mother had called on the government to make the chickenpox vaccine free for all.
"We were warned people might take his pictures... because if you Google chickenpox his pictures are there," Mrs Allen told the BBC.
"So, we were well aware that might happen, but not in this respect, to say he had cancer."
She added that some friends had contacted her after seeing the posts to ask if her son indeed had cancer.
Mrs Allen said she repeatedly messaged Facebook to complain about copyright infringement and was told on 10 February that one of the accounts had been removed for breaching the site's rules.
However, she said, it was back online within 24 hours, without explanation.
It was only after the media, including the BBC, covered the affair that Facebook instructed its complaints team to revisit the case.
The US-based company initially only removed the posts featuring Jasper before it decided to close the associated accounts completely.
The accounts had also featured posts with identical text that showed images of other children. One example featured a bearded youth - despite the words referring to a "little baby [that] has cancer".
Other posts from the accounts showed images of children in hospital claiming that viewers would experience years of bad luck if they scrolled down without liking and sharing.
One security blogger said it appeared to be have been a case of "link farming", in which scammers seek to make people interact with a Facebook post so they can either direct further messages to them or sell on the profile and all its contacts.
"There are a lot of scams that use these kind of emotional images - oftentimes it's done to make money," Graham Cluley explained.
"They may later post something that claims you've won a prize and try and get you to enter your mobile phone number and then sign you up for a premium rate service, or ask for other personal information.
"The problem is that people just believe things that are posted online, and they need to be a lot more careful about what they like and share."


The Central African Republic's neighbours have agreed to send an extra 2,000 troops to help restore security following last month's rebel takeover.

The move was agreed at a regional summit in Chad, whose president described CAR as a "wound in the heart of central Africa".
"Armed bands loot, hold to ransom and racketeer the population," he said.
The former rebels had asked both their neighbours and former colonial power France to increase their forces.
The current 500-strong multinational peacekeeping force Fomac was "insufficient to do the job", Mr Deby said earlier, reports the AFP news agency.
He said the reinforcements would help restructure the security forces.
South Africa, which lost at least 13 troops during the rebel takeover, has said it is pulling its forces out of CAR.
South Africa's President Jacob Zuma attended the summit, along with central African leaders and a delegation from the CAR's new leaders.
The summit of the Economic Community  of Central African States (ECCAS) accepted former rebel head Michel Djotodia as the country's leader but that he should not be called president, Reuters news agency reports.
"Mr Djotodia will not be called president of the republic, but head of state of the transition," it quotes President Deby as saying.
Mr Djotodia was declared interim president last week and says he will hold elections within 18 months.
Earlier, the UN children's agency warned that increasing numbers of children are being wounded in the conflict.
Unicef's emergency co-ordinator in Bangui, Robert McCarthy, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that all armed groups should ensure that children were protected.
"We're calling for: Number one, the protection of children by all parties - by everyone with a gun, everyone in command of soldiers, we have to protect the children, equally women, vulnerable populations.
"Equally, we need security to resume the most basic of life-saving interventions for the aid providers in the city and especially in the countryside."
The Seleka rebels, an alliance of armed groups, seized power after a peace deal negotiated with ousted President Francois Bozize collapsed.
Mr Djotodia is a former civil servant who fell out with Mr Bozize and went into exile, before returning under the peace deal in January as defence minister.
He resigned in March before seizing power.
Correspondents say he does not have widespread international support and has fallen out with some of his former allies.
CAR has an unstable history and is extremely poor, though it has large deposits of minerals including gold and diamonds.


"A stab in Russia's back by the accomplices of terrorists."

President Putin's phrase leapt from the front pages of Russian newspapers on Wednesday morning, along with furious commentary on Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter plane.
"Vladimir Putin has warned Erdogan about the consequences," another headline roared, as Russians absorbed the news that one of the pilots on board the Su-24 jet had been killed.
Worse still, he was shot at as he attempted to parachute to safety from his burning plane. A marine was then killed during a rescue attempt.
Since the start of its air strikes in Syria almost two months ago, Russia has received repeated warnings from Turkey over border violations.
This time, Russia insists its jet never left Syrian airspace though it has yet to produce what it calls the "objective" proof of that.
But even by Ankara's reckoning, the plane was only over Turkish territory for 17 seconds, raising questions here about the scale of the response.
Turkey, the argument goes, was under no threat.
An angry crowd surrounded the Turkish embassy today, throwing eggs and stones, yelling at those inside they were "murderers".
"Every country understands that hitting a military jet can start a war," politician Gennady Gudkov told Ekho Moskvy radio station, saying that is why every possible warning step is taken before shooting a plane down.
Many commentators here have cast doubt whether that happened in this case.
"There was no warning. Not via radio, or visually. There was no contact at all," the surviving co-pilot of the plane told journalists, safely back at Russia's airbase in Syria after his emergency mid-air ejection.
He says the jet was shot down from behind.
"If they had wanted to warn us, then they could have shown themselves - flown in parallel," Captain Murakhtin said.
Unconfirmed audio recordings have now been released by the Turkish military, said to be orders for the plane to change course. But the co-pilot insists he did not enter Turkish airspace "even for a second".
Russia's foreign minister has called the decision to shoot down the plane a "planned provocation", without speculating on Turkey's supposed motive.
But President Putin has already accused Ankara of siding with Islamic State (IS) by hitting the Russian jet; he also claimed some in Turkey are benefitting from the illicit sale of IS oil exports.
Clearly furious, he has threatened "serious consequences". After all, these are the first military casualties for Russia since air strikes began in Syria.
But so far concrete measures have been limited.
Russia has broken off military contacts with Turkey but diplomatic channels remain open.
The foreign minister spent a fraught hour on the phone to his Turkish counterpart today, but his conclusion was critical: "We do not intend to go to war with Turkey," Sergei Lavrov assured the world.
Instead, ministries have been ordered to report back to the Kremlin on any projects involving Turkey, for a decision on possible sanctions.
The future of a pipeline project could be in doubt and there have been calls for flights to Turkey to be suspended.
Meanwhile, tourists have been warned against travelling there for "security reasons". Last year, Turkey was the destination of choice for over three million Russian holidaymakers.
On the ground inside Syria the changes have been more immediate.
A cruiser has been despatched to help bolster air defences around the Russian base.
The sophisticated S400 anti aircraft system is also being deployed and Russian planes will now be protected on bombing raids by fighter jets.
The message to Turkey and its allies is clear: don't dare try it again.
As for the rescued co-pilot, he says he is impatient to return to the skies.
"I want to stay here," he said, referring to the Russian airbase. "I want payback for my commander."


South Yorkshire Police has complained to the BBC after the broadcaster gained details of a search the force was planning to conduct at pop star Sir Cliff Richard's home.

Officers carried out the search in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on Thursday.
The force says the BBC broke its own editorial rules. The BBC says "normal journalistic practice" was followed.
Sir Cliff, 73, said the allegation of an historical sex offence against a boy under 16 was "completely false".
BBC cameras and a reporter were outside the gates to Sir Cliff's property when eight police officers arrived.
In a statement, South Yorkshire Police said it was contacted some weeks ago by a BBC reporter "who made it clear he knew of the existence of an investigation."
The statement continued: "It was clear he was in a position to publish it.
"The force was reluctant to co-operate but felt that to do otherwise would risk losing any potential evidence, so in the interests of the investigation it was agreed that the reporter would be notified of the date of the house search in return for delaying publication of any of the facts."
Police later said "a number of people" had "provided information" after the search although it did not say what this related to.
In its statement, South Yorkshire Police added that "contrary to media reports", the decision to involve the BBC "was not taken in order to maximise publicity, it was taken to preserve any potential evidence".
Jonathan Munro, the BBC's head of newsgathering, wrote on Twitter on Friday that South Yorkshire Police had not been the source of the story.
But South Yorkshire Police said it was "disappointing that the BBC was slow to acknowledge that the force was not the source of the leak".
It said a letter of complaint had been sent to the director general of the BBC making it clear that the broadcaster appeared to have contravened its own editorial guidelines.
"South Yorkshire Police would welcome an investigation into the original leak," it added.
A BBC spokesperson said: "A BBC journalist approached South Yorkshire Police with information about the investigation.
"The BBC agreed to follow normal journalistic practice and not to publish a story that might jeopardise a police inquiry."
Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve has accused the police of having a "collusive relationship" with the BBC.
Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: "I can see that police might not want to warn somebody about a search because they fear a suspect will destroy the evidence.
"But it was much odder to tip off the BBC that they were carrying out the raid. That seems quite extraordinary."
Human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson QC described the way the police search was conducted as "unacceptable".
Writing in the Independent, he said: "The police had a duty to investigate, seek any corroborating evidence, and then - and only if they had reasonable grounds to suspect him of committing an offence - to give him the opportunity to refute those suspicions before a decision to charge is made.
"But here, police subverted due process by waiting until Richard had left for vacation, and then orchestrating massive publicity for the raid on his house, before making any request for interview and before any question could arise of arresting or charging him."
The BBC understands the allegation against Sir Cliff relates to an alleged assault at an event featuring US preacher Billy Graham at Bramall Lane in Sheffield in 1985.
Sir Cliff responded to the police search in a statement, which said: "For many months I have been aware of allegations against me of historic impropriety which have been circulating online.
"The allegations are completely false. Up until now I have chosen not to dignify the false allegations with a response, as it would just give them more oxygen."
He said he would "co-operate fully" if the police wanted to speak to him.


When Jenson Button said that finishing the Australian Grand Prix was "a massive step forward" for McLaren-Honda, it was effectively an admission of just how far his beleaguered team have to go before they can achieve their targets.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Back in December, McLaren chairman Ron Dennis talked about wanting to repeat the success of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the team won the drivers' and constructors' titles for four successive years from 1988.
But there is no comparison between the new McLaren-Honda and the old one.
When the two joined forces in 1988, Honda's turbo had been established as the best engine in F1 for at least two years and had been racing for five. The 2015 Honda turbo engine - with the hybrid technology now part of F1 - raced for the first time on Sunday.
The McLaren-Honda was the slowest car in Australia by a massive margin.
Button and team-mate Kevin Magnussen were 1.5 seconds away from getting out of the first knockout stage of qualifying.
On paper, they were 2.9secs slower than Mercedes in that session. But given the world champions were on the slower tyre, a further second can be added to that gap.
Media playback is not supported on this device
That's without considering the extra power Mercedes would gain from turning up their engine progressively for the next two parts of qualifying.
Three seconds off the pace each lap is bad enough, but five is close to catastrophic. And it raises the very real question of whether McLaren-Honda can ever close that gap.
Even McLaren racing director Eric Boullier admitted that "it may take more than a couple of years to catch up".
So what has gone wrong and can it be fixed?
The main reason is the engine. It only takes a glance at the speed trap figures to see that. McLaren are right at the bottom and were a massive 14-15km/h slower than the pace-setting, Mercedes-powered Williams.
Button was 15.5km/h slower than the Williams of Felipe Massa at the start-finish line, but only 14.8km/h down at the speed trap situated before the braking zone at the end of the straight.
This strongly suggests that the hybrid part of the engine is where the major problem lies, for it is with punch out of corners that the electrical energy plays the biggest part in performance.
The hybrid part of an F1 engine - recovering energy from both the rear axle (the MGU-K) and turbo (the MGU-H) - can account for anything between 160-200bhp, depending on how effective the technology is at recovering energy from the turbo, which is unlimited.
Media playback is not supported on this device
F1 engineers have a formula for working out what a lap-time deficit is equivalent to in terms of horsepower. This is, on average, 0.016secs per bhp.
So 2.9secs down is equivalent to 181bhp; 3.9secs is 244bhp; 5secs is 312bhp.
Now, not all the McLaren-Honda's deficit to the Mercedes will be down to the engine, so somewhere in amongst those numbers is how far the Honda is down on the Mercedes engine.
The real number is said to be at least 200bhp - equivalent, in effect if not in reality, to the whole hybrid part of the engine simply not working, and then some.
An ineffective hybrid system also requires the internal combustion element of the engine to be turned down, otherwise it would use too much fuel, as there is less power available from electrical energy.
Honda's main problem is that the engine is too unreliable to run at full power - and in Australia it had to be turned down even further than planned because the company did not have enough confidence in its ability to sustain the higher temperatures than were seen in pre-season testing in a southern European winter.
Describing the engine settings as "very conservative", Honda F1 boss Yasuhisa Arai said: "Unfortunately we don't have the experience of higher temperatures so we could not risk losing the engine in the first race."
Both the MGU-K and the engine itself were reduced in output, he said.
Despite that, Kevin Magnussen's engine did fail on the way to the grid. Honda say they do not yet know whether that engine, which comes out of Fernando Alonso's allocation of four for the season, is a write-off.
How much more power the engine will have once Honda becomes more confident in its reliability is not known.
The indications are that Honda know what the problems are, but the team refuse to put a timetable on how long they will take to fix.
In its quest to improve performance, Honda has the added benefit that, although engine development is restricted, manufacturers have freedom to change parts beyond the limits set by the rules if it is for reliability purposes. So there is room for manoeuvre.
It has occurred to many that the shrink-wrapped, tightly designed rear end of the McLaren - what they call their "size-zero car" - might be an influencing factor in the reliability issues Honda is suffering. But the team insist that is not the case.
Even if the engine is something over 200bhp down on the Mercedes, that still leaves a deficit of anywhere between a second and a second and a half in the car.
The McLaren drivers have been complimentary about the way the car behaves so far, and Button said the car was "about equal" to the Red Bull and Sauber in the corners.
But that's not exactly encouraging - one is, well, a Sauber; and Red Bull have massive problems with the driveability of the Renault engine, which is badly holding back its cornering performance.
However, Button, team-mate Kevin Magnussen and racing director Eric Boullier are confident the MP4-30 provides a good base for development.
Its design marks a philosophical shift for McLaren. For years, the team have chased peak downforce, with the result that the car is unpredictable and difficult to drive in corners because the downforce levels were inconsistent.
Aerodynamic design in F1 cars is a compromise. The more downforce a team chases from, say, a front wing, the more likely that part is to 'stall' - suddenly lose downforce because the airflow is disrupted. This is called "peaky" downforce and is what was happening to McLarens in the last few years.
Now, they have changed to a more Red Bull-style of philosophy, of aiming for more consistent, stable aerodynamics, which allow the driver to have more confidence, and therefore push harder.
"Last year," Button says, "the car had a lot of downforce initially when you hit the brakes but it was very on the nose on turn-in, and when you turned in you lost all front end at apex, whereas this year it does what you hope it will do, so you can be precise.
"It is a good start. We don't have enough downforce to fight with the Mercedes [if we had the same power], for example, or even a couple of other teams. But the basic philosophy is definitely right. I have not driven a McLaren like this before, not in the way it works.
"I'm not saying it's the quickest McLaren I've ever driven, because it's not. But in the way it works the basic car is very good so it means you can build on it.
"The airflow is very clean so you can just add downforce whereas before you added downforce and it would change the characteristics of the car. But it still needs a lot of work to be competitive."
Boullier adds: "What we know is the car is already good compared to last year's but we also know that the aero or vehicle dynamics development we can bring on this car in the next months is massive."


A dog was killed and several others injured when a snowmobile was deliberately driven into two dog-sled teams competing in a race, officials have said.

The incident happened during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.
Race marshals said a man on a snowmobile first attacked one sled and later hit the sled that was following behind.
A man has now been arrested, but police say the motive remains unclear.
Arnold Demoski, 26, faces charges of assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and criminal mischief, Alaska State Troopers say.
Mr Demoski had earlier told the Alaska Dispatch News that the incident was not intentional, but that he had blacked out after drinking.
Race officials said veteran competitor Aliy Zirkle first reported being attacked near the village of Nulato on the Yukon River during a leg of the 1,000-mile (1,609km) race to Nome.
Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters told AP news agency that the snowmobile had hit the side of Ms Zirkle's sled and the driver threatened her several more times before driving off.
One of her dogs was injured. She reported the incident after arriving in Nulato in the early hours of Saturday.
Some time later, competitor Jeff King, who had been following Ms Zirkle, reported being hit by the snowmobile in the same area. One of his dogs was killed and at least three others were injured.
"Regrettably, this incident very much alters the race of the two mushers competing for a win. However, both are going to continue on their way toward Nome,"  the Iditarod Trail Committee said.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual event that takes place through some of Alaska's most remote areas between Anchorage and Nome. Competitors and their teams often encounter blizzards, gale-force winds and freezing temperatures.


Two people have died and a third is in hospital after being taken ill at a property in Reading.

A 35-year-old man was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital from the scene in Southampton Street on Tuesday, and died the next day.
A 24-year-old man was treated by ambulance staff on Wednesday but died at the property.
A man aged 41 and a woman aged 36 were arrested on suspicion of class A drugs offences. Both have been bailed.
Post-mortem examinations and toxicology tests are due to be carried out on those who died.
The man in hospital, who is in his 40s, is in a stable condition, Thames Valley Police said.
Drugs paraphernalia was found at the multi-occupancy property, but officers said they had not yet linked it to the deaths.
Stan Gilmour, local policing area commander for Reading, said: "We would like to thank the residents of the Southampton Street area for their patience and tolerance while we conduct our inquiries into these men's deaths."


The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland says he believes the UK financial sector would be better off inside the European Union.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Newsnight, Ross McEwan said the uncertainty caused by the EU vote could "slow down banking".
He said he would like the referendum to be held as early as possible, ideally in June.
Mr McEwan added that he does not expect an interest rate rise before 2017.
The UK is due to hold a referendum on whether or not to stay in the European Union, before the end of 2017.
In an interview with Newsnight's Kirsty Wark Mr McEwan said he had seen no "economic data that suggests we'd be better off out in the short to medium term".
He said unpredictability around the referendum was causing problems for the UK's banks.
"The issue we've got is the uncertainty which slows businesses down, which will over time slow down banking so it's... really good that the government is trying to have the vote very quickly."
On interest rates, Mr McEwan said he sees no prospect of any rise from the Bank of England in the near future.
"We're going to have lower interest rates for a lot longer than was anticipated… I don't think [we'll have rate rises] for all this year and possibly all of 2017 as well.
"We just have to get used to an environment where we have low interest rates for a long period of time."
Mr McEwan suggested RBS had turned a corner under his leadership, but that it was likely the firm would post its eighth consecutive years of losses later this month.
The bank has set aside considerable sums to pay for US-imposed fines over mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities and payment protection insurance (PPI) payments.
In line with other banks the share price of RBS has declined by nearly 45% in a year. The firm remains largely in public hands, with the British government owning a 73% stake, after a £45bn ($65bn) bailout in 2008.
Chancellor George Osborne sold 5% of its stake last August, making a loss. The share price has fallen still further since then.
Asked if the British taxpayer is likely to get its £45bn back, Mr McEwan said: "At this rate no… We'd love to get that money back to the public because it's the public's money.
"But at the time, if they hadn't saved RBS then a lot of the financial services in the UK would have probably collapsed."
The full interview with the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland Ross McEwan will be broadcast on BBC Newsnight at 22:30 GMT on Friday 12 February. You can also catch up on iPlayer (UK only)


Government plans to remove the House of Lords' ability to veto some draft laws would "tilt the balance of power... towards government", peers have said.

A review of the Lords' powers was set up after peers voted down planned tax credits cuts - later axed by ministers.
But its scope has been criticised by two Lords committees who say its proposals would "damage" Parliament's role and should be shelved.
Unlike in the Commons, the Tories do not have a majority in the of Lords.
The review, carried out by ex-Lords leader Lord Strathclyde, recommended taking away the absolute veto the Lords had over statutory instruments -  a form of legislation implemented without Parliament having to pass an Act - and instead limiting them to sending the secondary (or delegated) legislation back to the Commons to "think again".
They would only be allowed to do this once, enabling the Commons to have the final say and push through its agenda even if the Lords disagreed.
But in separate reports published on Wednesday, the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Constitution Committee said weakening parliamentary scrutiny of secondary legislation "would tilt the balance of power away from Parliamentâ€¦ towards government".
Criticising the scope of the review, they said it was "not a proper basis for determining constitutional change" and warned the recommendations "will only damage Parliament's role and reputation".
"A six week review based on informal consultation following highly politicised events in both Houses is not a proper basis for determining constitutional change," the Constitution Committee said.
Secondary or delegated legislation allows the government to make changes to a law without needing to push through a completely new act of Parliament.
This can occur when primary legislation (an act of Parliament) specifies that changes to the law may be delegated to ministers in certain circumstances in future.
It may allow ministers to make technical changes to the law, like altering the level of a fine, but it can also sanction broader changes like fleshing out an act with greater detail.
Statutory Instruments (SIs) form the majority of delegated legislation.
The cross-party committees said the government should shelve the plans and allow both Houses of Parliament to consider the way in which secondary legislation is scrutinised.
Chairman Lord Lang of Monkton, a Conservative peer, said: "The Strathclyde Review was asked the wrong questions by the government.
"The role of the House of Lords in rejecting the tax credits regulations was not about the House of Lords versus the House of Commons; it was about Parliament scrutinising the government."
Baroness Fookes, chairman of the Delegated Powers Committee, said she welcomed the review for "shining a spotlight - perhaps unintentionally - on the unfortunate tendency of successive governments to leave substantial issues of policy and principle to be dealt with by delegated legislation".
"At best this is sloppy practice, and at worst it gives ministers far too much power to do whatever they want without sufficient scrutiny by Parliament," she added.
She said the committee would be "more demanding" of ministers and demand answers if they "seek substantial and wide powers without adequate explanation".
The review of the Lords' powers has been criticised by the Labour Party, which said it was a "massive over-reaction" to the tax credits defeat and accused ministers of "intimidating" the Lords.


Two US B-52 bomber planes have flown near artificial islands built by China in disputed areas of the South China Sea, the Pentagon has said.

Their mission continued despite being warned by Chinese ground controllers.
The incident comes ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama to a summit in Manila next week, which China's President Xi Jinping will also attend.
China is locked in maritime territorial disputes with several neighbours in the South China Sea.
It claims a large swathe of the resource-rich area and has been aggressively reclaiming land and building facilities on reefs, which the US and others oppose.
The US has said it plans to demonstrate its freedom of navigation principle in the sea, which challenges what it deems to be "excessive claims" to the world's oceans and airspace.
The US patrol, which took place overnight on Sunday near the Spratly Islands, was a "a routine mission in the SCS (South China Sea)", said Pentagon spokesman Bill Urban, taking off from Guam and returning there.
The B-52s did not breach the area of sea claimed by China around the islands, the Pentagon said.
Mr Urban told reporters that the planes received two warnings "despite never venturing within 15 nautical miles of any feature".
"Both aircraft continued their mission without incident, and at all times operated fully in accordance with international law," he said.
Last month, the US sailed warship USS Lassen into the 12-nautical mile zone China claims around Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago, angering Beijing.
China's foreign ministry condemned it as "illegal" and provocative.


Northern Ireland's budget bill has passed its second stage at Stormont, after 63 out of the 66 members who took part in the vote supported the bill

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) members did not cast their votes.
The three who voted no were Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister, the Green Party's Steven Agnew and Independent Unionist John McCallister.
The final stage of the bill is still dependent on a deal on welfare reform.
Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party have opposed existing plans to implement welfare reforms, as agreed during December's Stormont House Agreement.
They have argued that the measures will hit the most vulnerable members of society.
However, supporters of the plan say no more money is available, and warn failure to change the benefits system will mean the Northern Ireland Executive cannot manage its budget, putting the future of the devolved government at risk.
The Budget Bill, put forward by Finance Minister Arlene Foster, has been dubbed the "fantasy budget" as it was drawn up on the basis that welfare reform has already been agreed.
During a lengthy second stage debate, she was asked to outline what will happen if the impasse over welfare reform is not resolved.
Referring to her Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader, Peter Robinson, Mrs Foster said: "The first minister has always made it very clear that this party (the DUP) will not implement a budget which has £600m of cuts in terms of public services,"
"If welfare reform does not happen, there is no budget.
"If there is no welfare reform, there is no Stormont House Agreement and there is no executive. It's very clear."
She also urged Northern Ireland's business community to speak out about the issue.
After the Budget Bill passed its second stage on an oral vote, a leading employers' organisation released a statement urging the parties to balance their budget.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Northern Ireland director, Nigel Smyth, said the outcome of the vote "undoubtedly gives the executive a little breathing space to resolve its financial challenges".
"However, there is a clear view within the business community that all our elected leaders must live within their means and discharge government responsibly.
"The delivery of a sustainable and balanced budget is a critical element of the Stormont House Agreement and we would again urge all executive parties to refocus on its complete delivery," Mr Smyth added.


A woman has pleaded guilty to posting messages on social media promoting terrorism.

Alaa Esayed, 22, an Iraqi national from Kennington, south London, admitted encouraging terrorism and dissemination of a terrorist publication.
The posts were published on Twitter and Instagram between 1 June 2013 and 14 May 2014, the Old Bailey was told.
The number of posts she made was not disclosed but they contained links to terrorist propaganda.
Esayed is due to be sentenced on 18 May, pending medical reports. She was released on bail.


The European Union is preparing to spend hundreds of millions of euros on humanitarian aid, as Greece struggles to cope with an influx of migrants.

Under plans to be submitted on Wednesday, EU funds could be deployed within Europe in the same way they are used to help crises outside the bloc.
The UN has warned of a humanitarian disaster caused by a build-up of migrants on Greece's borders.
Thousands of asylum seekers remain trapped on the border with Macedonia.
The plan to be submitted by the EU's executive body, the European Commission, means EU aid agencies would for the first time work directly with the UN and other groups inside Europe, rather than disbursing money to individual member states.
EU officials said the aid plan would allocate 300m euros (Â£233m; $325m) this year to help any EU state deal with the migration crisis. In all, 700m euros would be made available over three years.
However, BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris says that even if such funding can be deployed quickly, the EU also needs to stem the flow of new arrivals. That would mean better co-operation with Turkey, he adds.
Greece has asked the European Commission for nearly 500m euros in assistance to help care for 100,000 asylum seekers.
About 24,000 migrants in Greece are in need of housing and more than 8,000 are stuck in worsening conditions on the border with Macedonia.
The crossing at Idomeni has closed following protests by migrants desperate to continue their journey to countries further north, particularly Germany.
Despite the border closure, thousands more migrants and refugees are still travelling to Idomeni. With the camp overwhelmed, many have been forced to wait on buses and at petrol stations along the route from Athens.
Some migrants have been stranded at the overburdened camp for more than a week.
Caroline Haga, an emergency co-ordinator for the International Red Cross (ICRC), said the Greek military had set up three more border camps near Idomeni but all are already full, with about 2,000 people at each.
On Tuesday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned that Europe was "on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis".
Spokesman Adrian Edwards said crowded conditions on Greece's borders were leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation.
Last week Macedonia began refusing entry to Afghan migrants and imposing stricter document controls on Syrians and Iraqis, slowing the passage to a trickle.
Then on Monday, Macedonia firmly closed the gate that separates it from the camp, citing the closure by Serbia of its northern border.
A similar knock-on effect has happened previously as Eastern European countries attempt to reduce the number of migrants crossing their borders.
Frustration at the closure boiled over on Monday and scores of migrants clashed with security guards. Some attempted to smash through a fence, prompting the guards to fire tear gas and rubber bullets.
European Council President Donald Tusk is due to visit Croatia and Macedonia on Wednesday before moving on for talks in both Greece and Turkey in advance of a special EU summit next Monday.


Seam bowler Jackson Bird has not given up hope of playing some part in Australia's Ashes tour this summer.

Bird, who will play for Hampshire for three months, last played a Test in 2013 and has missed out on the England and West Indies touring parties.
"I've missed out on the Ashes touring party but I am on standby for those two tours," Bird told BBC Radio Solent.
"The bonus is if I'm doing well and I'm over here then if someone gets injured then hopefully I get the call-up."
The 28-year-old has three Test caps for Australia and says he is anticipating his first experience of county cricket when Hampshire face Sussex in his side's season opener on Sunday.
"It's a good opportunity for me to come over and play country cricket and I am looking forward to getting stuck in," he added.
"I'm looking to contribute and help Hampshire win games of cricket. With them being promoted to Division One this year, we're looking to go well and I'm hoping to play my part, take a few wickets and that's all I'm focused on."
Bird, who says he is over the back injury which prevented him playing for Northants last year, added he may be open to extending his stay past at the Ageas Bowl the initial three months and has been impressed by what he has seen from his new team-mates.
"I'm focusing on the next three months and hopefully if I can, I can play a further part in the season," he said.
"I'm not centrally contracted so these decisions I can make myself. The Australia summer is my priority so I'd like to see how my body is going.
"Hampshire are quite strong, the top order is very strong and we have a couple of good bowlers so we just need the confidence to believe we can do well in Division One."


A fire which broke out at a school in Derry on Monday night is being treated as a suspected arson attack.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service was called to Holy Child Primary School at 21:20 GMT.
A spokesperson said that when crews arrived, the roof of the building in Central Drive, Creggan, was alight.
School principal Orla McDonnell said: "We very nearly didn't have a school by the end of last night, but thankfully the fire service were here quickly."
"It was an horrific experience last night getting that phone call, driving up to the school, and wondering what you were going to be met with," said Ms O'Donnell.
"There had actually been a governors meeting on in the school last night.
"We were having a very lengthy conversation about how we would celebrate the school's 60th anniversary."
Miss O'Donnell said the overwhelming feeling on Tuesday morning was one of relief.
"It would be fair to say that there is an ongoing problem with youths coming onto school grounds," she said.
"I would just urge every parent to sit their children down and have a talk about their personal safety, there could have been loss of life last night."
In a statement online, Holy Child said damage was limited and it plans to open to pupils on Tuesday morning.
Four appliances from Crescent Link and Northland Fire Station attended the scene.
Fire Service district commander Kevin Lynch said fire crews were called to the scene shortly after 21:00 BST.
"When we arrived, building materials on the roof had been set alight," he said.
"The quick action of the fire service meant we were able to extinguish the fire before it got a chance to get into the structure of the building. "
The fire was brought under control shortly before midnight.