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RENEWING LOCAL DEMOCRACY: THE NEXT STEPS
FOREWORD
The key task facing local government in Scotland is the delivery of effective and efficient services for the communities it serves. People want their councils to provide better schools for their children; efficient, reliable local transport systems; a well-maintained local road network; and safer, cleaner streets.
The Executive is committed to strengthening local governance and improving public services. We want local authorities to have the flexibility to respond to local needs and circumstances. This paper is a vitally important step in delivering this agenda, particularly as it impacts on the role of elected members.
We recognise that councils are crucial to the public service delivery agenda, but they are about much more than that. Councils provide a vehicle for making local choices and setting local priorities. Councils represent their communities to the Executive, to the Scottish Parliament, to Westminster and to Europe. We understand the important and responsible role of councillors within their local communities, and that the demands and pressures placed on them have changed and increased rapidly, in a short period of time.
This document looks at who councillors are, how they are rewarded, how they are elected and how they provide community leadership. It reaffirms the importance of local government in the Executive's overall policy framework, and aims to modernise and enhance the good work already carried out by local government.
I want to emphasise that this document is not prescriptive - we want to hear views on its contents. We have deliberately chosen to have a lengthy period of consultation on the issues raised. My Ministerial colleagues and I will be meeting with interested parties throughout Scotland over the coming months to discuss the questions raised in the paper. We hope that all those with an interest in the future of local government will comment on the issues raised. It is vital that the conclusions reached as a result of this process command wide support throughout Scotland.
I invite you to join us in taking forward the process of renewing local democracy by giving us your views on the questions posed in this document. I look forward to hearing them.
ANDY KERR MSP
Minister for Finance and Public Services
March 2002
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