This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Promoting local government awareness
20/09/2006
A new initiative to encourage a broader range of people to participate in local government was announced today.
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform, Tom McCabe, and his deputy George Lyon, said Ministers wanted to promote the important role councillors play in developing their communities.
It is also part of a wider drive to persuade traditionally underrepresented groups to put themselves forward as potential future councillors.
The initiative includes a new website www.votescotland.com which offers information on standing for election as a local councillor as well as highlighting the positive aspects of working to improve peoples' lives in local communities.
At present, the average age of a Scottish councillor is 55 and only 22 per cent are female.
Forty-three per cent of councillors work in the private sector and only one per cent of local government representatives hail from minority ethnic communities.
Mr McCabe said:
"All of us rely on the vital local services councils deliver every single day. And councillors play a crucial role in representing their local communities and ensuring people receive the top-quality public services they expect and deserve.
"We have launched a wide range of initiatives to renew local democracy and underline the important role councillors play, including a salary package and a severance scheme to recognise the contribution of long-standing councillors. I hope this will help attract a wider range of people to consider standing as councillors - we need to ensure all areas of the public sector, including councils, are more representative of the people they serve."
Mr Lyon added:
"This campaign will underline the important role councillors play in local communities. We want to encourage more young people, women and members of the minority ethnic and business community to stand as councillors. We need people from under-represented groups to play their part in local democracy."
Ministers were joined at the launch at the National Museums of Scotland by representatives from targeted groups including Gemma McIlwane from Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, David Watt, Executive Director of the Institute of Directors Scotland and Ali Jarvis, Interim Director of the Commission for Racial Equality Scotland.
The Executive has introduced a number of initiatives through the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.
The new salary, pension and severance package proposals follows a review of councillors' allowances by the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) earlier this year.