A good number of Edinburgh Community Councils presently feel they are in straitened circumstances, low on participants and finding it difficult to meet their support needs on admin and, notably, on IT and media. The City Council and, at a higher level, Scot Gov have a long-declared commitment to the nurture and support of 'local democracy', led by Community Councils. On the context of the now-current Scheme Review, there is every incentive for a Community Council to make clear its concerns, opinions and needs. On the issue of practical support, here is a repeat of part of the 6 August EACC update, which covered the early stage of the Scheme Review.

Resourcing of a community council (2019 Scheme, Paras 11.9 and 11.11):

• Contemporary ‘support needs’ for a well-functioning community council nowadays centre on IT, on website maintenance and repair, on technical assistance with AV equipment for hybrid meetings, all alongside the minuting and reporting of community council proceedings.
• The absence of such support blunts a community council's effectiveness in its core role and its ambition, especially when 'something goes wrong'.
• The need for CEC operational support now goes well beyond 'additional support services/resourcing, such as photocopying and distribution of community council minutes and agendas and (also) free lets of halls for community council meetings', as offered in the 2019 Scheme Review.
• There is a case for a (much) stronger CEC commitment to dependable, core operational back-up of community councils' governance and administration work.
• What new avenues of operational (and financial) assistance can CEC look to introduce in this current Scheme Review?

END / KR