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New report highlights human rights concerns across the South of Scotland
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The Scottish Government has published an initial proposal for reform of local governance. It is clear that this is a starting point for discussion rather than a final model. The Government is seeking a new balance between regional strategic decision-making and stronger community-level decision-making, alongside simpler structures, reduced duplication and better use of public resources.
The proposals include consideration of:
The Scottish Government has said that it wants to establish a shared direction for reform through engagement with local government, communities and other partners[1].
Scottish Borders Council has not taken a final position on the proposals. Following consideration by Full Council on 24th September, it said it would take time to examine the detail and contribute to future discussions.
The Council has emphasised that the Scottish Borders has a distinct geography, economy, history and culture, and that any future arrangements must protect local democratic accountability and reflect the needs of its towns, villages and rural communities.
BCA was invited to attend the Public Service Reform Summit on Wednesday 30th September, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Ivan McKee, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform, about the Scottish Government’s proposals.
The message from the Scottish Government was clear: the current arrangements are not working as well as they need to for people and communities, and change is therefore necessary. The invitation to stakeholders is to consider the different options for how public services and local democracy could be organised in the future.
At this stage, BCA believes it is important to remain open-minded and evidence-led. We are not taking a position for or against a particular structural model. Instead, we want to understand what the proposed changes could mean for people, communities and the third sector in the Scottish Borders.
For rural communities such as ours, we share the concern that larger regional structures could potentially move decision-making further away from local people and communities. At the same time, we recognise that there may be opportunities to improve how services are planned and delivered, reduce duplication and strengthen collaboration across places.
One area where we want to understand more is the proposed role of Community Authorities: how they would be established, what powers and resources they would have, how they would relate to regional structures, and importantly, how they could strengthen local democracy and community influence.
The consultation timeframe is relatively short, so BCA will be reaching out to our members shortly to hear your views and experiences. Please keep an eye on your mailbox and look out for the consultation paper available at our upcoming events.
Your views will help inform BCA’s contribution to the discussion and ensure that the voice of the Scottish Borders third sector is part of the conversation about the future of public services and local democracy.
