Local Authorities and Community Councils: Enhancing the Relationship: CHAPTER 2

Local Authorities and Community Councils: Enhancing the Relationship

CHAPTER 2:

ACTION BY AUTHORITIES: CHECKLIST OF GOOD PRACTICE

This checklist is intended to help councils ensure that community councils are best able to serve their communities and complement the role of councils.

Councils should:

1. Ensure that their community council schemes include the following:

purpose of community councils;
principles for the establishment of a community council;
electoral qualifications and composition of community councils;
formal guidelines on community council constitutions (eg frequency of meetings, the selection of office bearers, minutes, consultation arrangements, treatment of heritable property, arrangements for dissolution of a community council, insurance);
information about the composition and ratio to population of community councils;
a clear description of the electoral process (frequency, timetable, publicity, nominations, ballot papers, voting procedures, contested and uncontested elections);
any arrangements for local flexibility.

2. Ensure there is wide consultation about the creation/amendment of community council schemes. If intending to revoke their community council scheme and create a new one, carry out preliminary consultation on the new scheme before actually revoking the old one, so that an area is not without community councils for too long.

3. Identify a liaison officer with appropriate authority to act as the main point of communication for community councils; and to provide advice to community councils.

Good Practice

Fife Council's Locality Managers act as points of contact for community councils. South Ayrshire have a Community Liaison Manager as a nominated link. Some other councils have Community Council Officers.

4. Ensure that community councils have the opportunity for discussions with officers, with individual councillors, and at committees of the council, as appropriate.

5. Involve community councils in relation to local planning and licensing matters: for instance, early consultation on Structure Plans and Local Plans is useful to ascertain local views on general and specific issues and/or proposals. Arrangements for consultation on weekly lists of planning cases and on specific planning applications should be established and kept under review.

6. Ensure that all relevant information is made available to community councils and that they have enough time to respond, particularly over holiday periods.

Good Practice

Falkirk Council hold an annual conference of community councils to discuss and review relevant issues.

7. Consider how to allow community councils to have a say on local priorities within their area.

8. Consider how they might enable community council views to guide council activities on matters exclusive to their own areas.

Good Practice

In Scottish Borders Council, community councillors are members of Area Committees. While only local authority member councillors can vote on those committees, community councillors have an important formalised role in putting the views of their community.

9. Ensure that community councils continue to be involved effectively in decentralisation schemes, and that decentralised structures are complementary to the role of community councils.

10. Ensure that community councils are provided, where requested, with reasons for decisions taken (this would be consistent with the Code of Guidance on Openness which COSLA has developed), and that in all cases they are informed about reasons for decisions on cases where they have expressed a view;

11. In reviewing election or other voting arrangements, seek to encourage as broad a representation and as high a turnout from the local community as possible.

12. Promote contested elections.

Good Practice

Stirling Council organised a postal election for community councils, using a Single Transferable Vote system. This massively increased turnout, with a majority of electors casting their vote.

13. Consider establishing a standard election day for community council elections.

14. Promote activities designed to increase public awareness both in respect of elections and of community council activities generally;

15. Consider what financial and technical support, within available resources, is appropriate to support community councils.

16. Consider exploring novel methods of supplementing basic funding of community councils.

Good Practice

North Ayrshire Council have responded to the needs of community councils in remote areas by making them eligible for additional assistance to cover travel costs.

17. Ensure that community councils know where they can gain access to facilities such as photocopiers etc. Legislation allows local authorities to provide a range of support: this should be used imaginatively but mindful of the requirement to secure sound stewardship in relation to public funds

Good Practice

East Renfrewshire Council have established a Challenge Budget for local projects.

18. Consider how best to meet the training needs of community councillors.

Good Practice

Moray Council have conducted a community council training day with Planning Aid Scotland. East Ayrshire Council have conducted a needs audit of community councils to ascertain the type of support they need.