Event: 10 Jun 23: West Lothian Joint Forum (WLJF) of Community Councils:
The New Community Councils of 2023 and beyond:
A Blueprint for a New Form of Local Decision-Making and Democracy ①
The Declaration:
“The Joint Forum believes that Community Councils should be more empowered and be given more resources. Our proposals were published in a document called the BLUEPRINT for Future Community Councils” ②
The Core Issues:
- A minority of CCs are able to report a strong vibrancy in their key relationships with community and with their local authority and other local organisations. WLJF is one of those. However, many CCs (urban more than rural) report the going is tougher. “Relationships tend to be ‘fair to poor’; few are ‘very good’”.
- The WLJF wants ‘more’ for CCs – see the BLUEPRINT – a bigger seat at a bigger table. The proposals have been in gestation since c. 2020, their launch delayed by Covid.
- The WLJF sees them as a generator of fundamental change, bringing to a wider array of CCs the vibrancy that’s presently missing.
- Prerequisites for success are wider, more diversified, stronger local community engagement and participation (with more competitive CC elections), helping to break down demographic and ethnicity barriers in the process.
- Greater CC power and responsibility (in good part money) builds CC presence, legitimacy, relevance and, in turn, participation and diversity.
- However, this needs a cohesive, unified CC voice across the country. The WLJF propose a Scottish Forum of Community Councils.
- The WLJF BLUEPRINT makes its formal debut on 10 June.
The Context:
1. ‘50 years of Community Councils (CC) in Scotland; but no furtherance in legislation to bring ‘democracy’ down to a more local level.’ (WLJF)
2. Scottish Parliament: The Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee continues its post-legislative scrutiny of the Community Empowerment Act 2015.③
3. Community Councils give evidence to the Committee on 23 May. ④
4. Scottish Government: Improving Public Services: Scotland’s 32 Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) are responsible for Local Outcomes Improvement Plans and Locality Plans.
“Community participation lies at the heart of community planning, ………. Consultation is no longer enough - CPPs and community planning partners must act to secure the participation of communities throughout.” ⑤
5. Scottish Government: Community Empowerment: “We are committed to supporting our communities to dop things for themselves, and to make their voices heard in the planning and delivery of services.” ⑥
6. The next round of Community Council elections is likely to be in Q2, 2024, preceded by a Scheme Review of Community Councils.
7. The time for change is now.
The Rationale for Change Now:
Dr. Oliver Escobar, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Edinburgh University – a long-standing commentator on local government and community involvement in Scotland:
The UK and Scottish political systems are overly (extremely) centralised, compared to peers. Centralisation now longer an ‘asset’; it is serving now as a bed for “real mistrust” between core government and communities.
Squeezed budgets are carving out key ‘front-line’ community staff from local authorities, so the situation deteriorates even further.
Elected (LA) Councillors “are some of the most powerless in Western Europe”, squeezed between Scot Gov and their communities. It is difficult to identify what is the gain in political capital for Scot Gov Ministers (and for Elected Councillors) in offering CC reform?
The Call to Arms:
‘Organise’ a national network of CCs to build a shared movement for reform.
‘Revise’ the approach within every CC to deepen community engagement, expand relevance, grow importance.
‘Propose’ and promote to Scot Gov the need for ‘democratic reform’ in line with the BLUEPRINT.
Show that CCs can work together to handle reform in their favour (‘contrary to the views of some Scot Gov Ministers’).
The Reaction:
Screen Poll 1: ‘Time for reform of Scottish CCs?’ 43 yes, 3 no; out of c. 55 attendees.
Screen Poll 2: ‘Willing to help for a Scottish Forum of CCs?’ 30 yes, 0 no, 8 need more info.
Conversational undercurrents:
“CCs must be involved in Place meetings.”;
“CCs have a right to be involved in all relevant CC activity.”
“Why not offer to work with neighbouring ‘disestablished’ or struggling CCs?”
“Why Community Councils are awesome”, offers Simon Jones on the Common Weal. ⑦
The Improvement Service ⑧ and the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) ⑨ were at the event to promote their direct and online support services (Skills and Development, Social Media, Community Engagement, among other areas).
The Outcome:
Expect WLJF to move to bring forward Heads of Terms for a Scottish Forum of Community Councils.
① BLUEPRINT for Future Community Councils 2023.pdf - Google Drive
② Community - JOINT FORUM of COMMUNITY COUNCILS IN WEST LOTHIAN (westlothiancc.com)
(Under ‘Community Empowerment ‘)
③ Community Planning Inquiry | Scottish Parliament Website
④ Holyrood hears evidence about Community Councils | Community Council
⑤ Community planning - Improving public services - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
⑥ Community empowerment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
⑦ Why Community Councils are Awesome… – Common Weal
⑧ Improvement Service | Improvement Service
⑨ SCDC - We believe communities matter
End/KR