Resource Local Democracy
Local communities must be at the heart of decision making.
Scotland currently has a highly centralised system and more must be done to devolve decision-making powers and resources to the most local level to actively facilitate subsidiarity, inclusivity, and engagement.
SURF’s work through the Alliance for Action supports this and has shown that community empowerment and local decision-making is fundamental to ensuring that the Place Principle delivers in practice throughout Scotland.
Policy Proposals
Invest in community councils and introduce a Community Action Plan Fund.
Strengthen and resource community councils – as per the 2019 SCDC and What Works Scotland Report – to fulfil their role as the foundational layer of Scotland’s democracy. This includes opportunities offered by Community Action Plans, which should be seen as the overarching expression of the community. CAPs should incorporate Local Place Plans and be delivered by the Community Planning Partnership so that they act as a material consideration for key stakeholders going forward. Additionally, support should be offered to (re)establish community councils where they do not exist.
Mainstream Community Wealth Building.
Mainstream the Community Wealth Building approach into wider policy and provide specific funding to local or regional stakeholders to build on the CWB pilots, with a focus on implementation. Concrete outputs and action are important to build both trust and momentum, as SRUC’s research on the CWB pilots identifies a lack of funding and statutory obligations as reasons it is both financially and politically difficult to prioritise CWB work.
Bridge the gap between communities and local government.
Specific funding for a network of Community Led Development Officers that operate at a local, community level, and provide a bridge between communities and local government, prioritising areas that are least resourced. This network would also play a crucial role in sharing and putting into practice key learning on how to nurture fully deliberative and participative methods of democratic decision-making at a local level.
More Policies
- As part of the above, the Scottish Government should introduce a specific Community Action Plan Fund to empower the least resourced communities to create a CAP.
- A renewed, joint COSLA and SG commitment to mainstreaming Participatory Budgeting, with a view to doubling the current target to 2% of all spending and strengthening accessibility and participation, especially amongst the underrepresented. This must come paired with additional funding for Local Authorities to implement and resource this, with funding and the lack of a dedicated PB function within local authorities often cited as the principal barrier to implementing PB successfully in Scotland.