Local Councils

Learning Intentions Where does the funding for Local Councils come from? How do councillors represent us in local government? What are mandatory and discretionary services?

Introduction Many decisions about our daily lives are taken by Local Councils (sometimes called Local Authorities) in Scotland. These are things that cover the day-to-day aspects of our lives. Scottish Councils can make decisions on mandatory and discretionary areas.

Mandatory Services Mandatory services are things that they have to provide, such as council housing and schools.

Discretionary services Discretionary services are services that council do not have to provide, like leisure centres and libraries. Some councils may provide swimming pools and gyms that can help with health and lifestyle in the local area.

How do councils affect our lives? Councils can affect the lives of people in their constituencies by deciding how to organise education in the local area. They can make decisions to build new schools, or shut down school if they think they do not have enough pupils. For example Moray Council is looking at a plan to save money by closing down some smaller primary schools. This will affect pupils and parents in that area.

Who are councillors? Councillors are the people we elect to represent us at Council meetings. They are democratically elected on a manifesto – same as MSPs and MPs – they just work at a more local level. There will be a council election in May 2017

How do councillors represent us? Councillors can represent people in the local area by listening to their concerns and then voicing them in meetings of the council. For example is a person is concerned about the closure of a local primary school, they can speak to their councillor about it, and if enough people have shown that they feel the same way, the councillor may speak out against the closure in a council meeting

Furthermore… Councillors may speak up on behalf of local people in meetings with local officials such as headteachers or hospital managers. For example if a person is concerned about waiting lists at their local hospital, they may get their local councillor to question why the waiting list is so long

And … Councillors could also propose new by-laws or regulations for local areas. For example if a person is concerned that traffic is passing their house too quickly, as there may be young children playing, they could ask their local councillor to propose a speed restriction in that area, or traffic calming measures to be put in place.

Scottish Government Block Grant Local councils receive money from the Scottish government each year, after the government has decided on how to distribute the money from the Block Grant. The Block Grant is the proportion of the UK tax money that is given to the Scottish government to spend on providing services for Scotland. It is based on the Barnett Formula, which takes into account the number of people living in the country. The Scottish government passes on a proportion of this money to the councils.

Council Tax Councils can also raise money through council tax. This is an amount of money that households have to pay each year, depending on the value of their home. Bigger, more valuable homes have higher rates of council tax to pay Councils have the power to raise council tax each year, however since the SNP have been in government the councils have agreed to freeze council tax rates and will then get more money from the block grant.

Rent from property The Council can also raise money from rent on council properties – although this money should be spent on the upkeep of homes and areas. The amount of money that council have been able to raise from this source in recent years has reduced, because so many people have bought their council homes in recent years.

Charge businesses for services Councils can charge rates to local businesses, for services provided by the council, like industrial waste, road maintenance etc, which are all services used by businesses.

Timed essay practice Explain how councillors can represent the interests of their constituents 6 marks = 9 minutes Explain how local authorities have power over important issues in the local area 4 marks = 6 minutes Explain how local authorities raise funds