LARGE councils covering vast geographical areas in Scotland need to be broken down into smaller entities to ensure tiny communities have a voice in local government, an ex-minister has insisted.
In the first episode of the new Talking Scotland podcast, SNP MSPs Karen Adam and Kate Forbes are joined by Aberdeenshire councillor Louise McAllister for a wide-ranging discussion on local government reform.
The conversation looked at how people in rural communities in the North East and Highlands and Islands often feel disenfranchised and far from power, as they delved into how they each felt various elements of local government could be transformed.
Former finance secretary Forbes said she felt that, as a starting point, “big behemoths” like Highland Council needed to be broken up to ensure people’s voices outside big urban areas like Inverness were not drowned out.
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The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP said: “Within Highland Council, which we often say is the size of a small country, there are areas like the small isles where it would take me an eight-hour return trip in order to visit about 40 people on the Isle of Rùm.
“They deserve representation and it’s critical their voice is not drowned out in the Highland Council chamber when there will inevitably be more representatives from the city of Inverness.
“So the first thing is we need to break up structurally big behemoths like Highland Council and go back to much smaller, structural entities. So for example Lochaber, Skye, Ross-shire.
“How do we ensure at the smallest most local level, they have real power? By real power I mean the ability to raise funding, and the ability to make decisions how it is spent.
“I think that for as long as people feel disenfranchised and far from power, there’s reform that’s needed.”
The UK has the largest local governments, in terms of residents per local authority, of any country in Europe.
The average local government size in Italy, Germany, Spain and France is 5667 residents, data from the OECD and European Commission shows. In Scotland our largest council area is Glasgow with more than 600,000 people represented, and the smallest is Orkney with 20,000 residents.
How can we improve councils?
During the podcast, the trio also agreed councillors should be paid higher salaries and their work better celebrated by political parties.
All three expressed concerns that people did not often know who their local councillors were, and what they were responsible for.
Adam, who used to be a councillor but is now an MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, said: “When people come to me as an MSP to say they have an issue with education or the roads, which is within the council’s responsibility, often people don’t realise that is within the council remit and for me as an MSP, it’s not my place to dictate to the local authority what they do.”
McAllister (below) added: “People were astounded when I tried to list off some of the things we do as a local authority.
“Actually, when I stood for election, I didn’t know everything I was going to be responsible for and I would say a lot of councillors find themselves in that position.
“Lots of people don’t know who their local councillors are. Sometimes that’s because some councillors don’t engage in the way they should with their communities, but I think a lot depends on the calibre of the leaders too.”
Forbes added that when she suggests to people who come to her that they go and speak to their councillors, they often say they don’t know who they are, something which she finds “remarkable”.
She added: “I think there’s a lack of understanding, there’s a lack of appreciation, and I think there is not enough democracy.”
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People not realising how much their local councillors are responsible for can also lead to ill-informed judgements about how much councillors are paid, the guests said.
The basic pay for councillors in Scotland is just over £20,000 a year and Adam recalled being in bizarre financial situation when she was a councillor.
“It’s not a lot of money you get paid,” she said.
“I was a single parent and I was studying at the Open University and a councillor at the same time, and I was entitled to top-up benefits and in receipt of housing benefit from the very same council that I was a local councillor for.
“If people want to get involved in the council it is quite hard, front-facing work, and we need to have not just parity of esteem [with MSPs and MPs], but I would also say that salary should be increased to match that responsibility.”
McAllister added: “Most people don’t understand what you are responsible for and it’s a huge responsibility.
“We are involved in planning issues. These are quasi-legal decisions you’re making.”
The Talking Scotland podcast will focus on issues outside the central belt and will see groups and individuals from across Scotland host shows on a rotating basis to bring diverse voices and topics.
To listen to the full episode, click here.
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