Scotland’s independent think tank
In Scotland, the most local level of democracy is the Community Council. Community Councils are supposed to be elected every 3 years. However, in many cases no election takes place as there are fewer nominations than places. The statutory powers of the Community Councils are very limited, solely in relation to planning matters where their …
I am writing this while in Budapest, during the World Athletics Championships, where the greatest athletes in the world compete across the many disciplines of track and field. While it is wonderful to see the pinnacle of athletics in action, the benefits of sport are far wider than the pride of winning medals at the …
Lord McConnell asks some interesting and important questions in his May 2023 article on decentralisation and devolution. We take a slightly different view. Too often in debates like these we get hamstrung by words which can create false dichotomies. Is centralisation ‘bad’ by definition, and decentralisation and devolution ‘good’? It depends, of course, on what …
Distributed data infrastructure & decentralised service provision – Alan Mitchell Read More »
The New Deal for Local Government, also known as the ‘Verity House Agreement’, between the Scottish Government and COSLA signed in June this year returned to themes of: ‘local-by-default, national-by-agreement’ (European Charter of Local Self-Government); emphasis on Community Planning Partnerships; completing the Local Governance Review (LGR) initiated in 2018. The LGR could provide a space …
Local democracy and the Local Governance Review in turbulent times – James Henderson Read More »
I firmly believe from solid experience as a Community Councillor that residents and community bodies can ‘take back control’ even within the current heavily centralised democratic system. Such activity would be entirely complementary to many of the constructive, longer term, suggestions already made in this debate. Taking back control would not require funding and structure …
Participation Requests and the Community Empowerment Act – Bruce Morrison Read More »
Let us be clear from the start. When we discuss ‘sport’, we are talking about life far beyond a pitch, field, court or pool. We are talking about the potential fun of games and activities and their contribution to the overall quality of life for every person, young and old, across every part of Scotland. …
Community Sport and Civic Society – Charlie Raeburn Read More »
In the context of the proposed New Deal for local government and in the context of its responsibilities in relation to the provision of school education, what needs to be done to improve the relationship between local authorities and the Scottish Government and its agencies, agencies such as Education Scotland and the SQA? When one …
Local Government & education reform – Jim Goodall Read More »
This Reform Scotland series is an opportunity to reflect upon the 30 years since ‘Shaping the Future: The New Councils’ was published. From a two-tier local authority system, Scotland ended up with 32 unitary local authorities. As a sitting Highland Councillor, elected for the first time in 2022, I am delighted to have been asked …
The Class of 2022 – a perspective from an Independent Councillor – Sarah Atkin Read More »
The principle of subsidiary is a political term much promoted on both the left and right of the political spectrum, enshrined in many documents from the Maastricht Treaty to the Scottish Governments policy on public services but sadly rarely fully delivered by central governments and certainly not in Scotland. Subsidiarity should be the guiding principle …
Central autocratic control is not working. We need to go back to our old Scottish roots and refine our historic belief in the Common Good and the Old Parish caring model. Scotland has always functioned best when the county town and its rural hinterland have been working properly. More people in Scotland still live in …