S3W-30729: Community Council Support

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to (a) proposed and (b) existing community councils.

Answered by John Swinney (22/01/2010): The level of support provided to community councils, including any financial support, is at the discretion of each individual local authority.

However, in partnership with COSLA and the Association of Scottish Community Councils (ASCC), we are continuing to raise the profile and effectiveness of community councils throughout Scotland to enable them to build their capacity and to allow them to engage as key participants in local decision making and delivery.

This includes promoting the adoption of the Model Scheme of Establishment of Community Councils and Code of Conduct for Community Councillors, documents developed by a Scottish Government Community Council Working Group (CCWG). Adoption of these documents is key to the building of capacity as they will help establish a greater consistency of operational arrangements and a culture of accountability.

The Scottish Government is also funding a series of Community Council Pilot Projects. The pilots will focus on budget management, community council elections and potential asset management.