| |
Community
councils were introduced through the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
The Act defined the purpose of a community council as
being "to ascertain, co-ordinate and express to the Local Authorities for its area
and to public authorities the views of the community which it represents, in
relation to matters for which those authorities are responsible."
This allowed community councils to get
involved in a wide variety of issues. A recent survey by the Association of
Scottish Community Councils identified over 1,000 different activities which
community councils have undertaken. These included road improvements, youth
projects, environmental initiatives, upgrading of amenities and community
initiatives. In addition to this, there are any number of activities which
they can become involved in which might benefit their area, either working
on their own or in partnership with other agencies.
A community council can act as a
campaigning body in raising awareness of specific local issues. They can be
particularly useful in coordinating
smaller, local organisations to ensure that resources aren’t being wasted
& that several groups aren’t all trying to do the same job.
The Local Government Scotland Act, 1973 empowered all local authorities to
assist community councils, both with funding and administrative support.
There are currently about 1200 community councils in Scotland covering
populations ranging from 35 to 34000. The boundaries of their communities,
the number of community council representatives, the populations they
represent & their election procedures are determined by each parent local
authority through the Scheme for Community Councils.
Should you require further
information on Community Councils, please refer to the City of Edinburgh Council
website
|
|
