Democracy Matters: Steering Group minutes - January 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Katie Kelly, New Local (chair)
• Anna Baxendale, Head of Health Improvement, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• Douglas Hendry, Executive Director, Argyll & Bute Council
• Elizabeth Docherty Director of Scottish Community Alliance
• James Henderson, Local Democracy and Participation Academic

• Jennifer Kerr, Community Engagement manager, South Lanarkshire Council

• Jennifer McGee, Policy and Community Planning Officer, North Ayrshire (substitute for Jacqui Greenlees)
• Rona Blackwood, Head of Programmes, Children’s Parliament
• Lee Haxton, Community Planning Team Leader, Perth & Kinross Council
• Paul Vaughan, Hea of Communities and Neighbourhoods, Fife Council
• Pauline Smith, Chief Executive, Development Trust Association Scotland
• Tanveer Parnez, Director of National Development, Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Scotland
• Megan O’Hara-Knight, Policy and Participation Coordinator, Glasgow Disability Alliance (substitute for Tressa Burke)
• Jonathon Shafi, Electoral Reform Society (substitute for Willie Sullivan)
• Laura MacDonald, Scotland Community Development Centre (substitute for Susan Paxton)
• Mick Doyle, Scotland Community Development Centre (substitute for Susan Paxton)

Official support

• Julie McLachlan, Scottish Government, Place Based Service Change
• Cameron Mellowes, Scottish Government, Local Governance Review
• Ryan Little, Scottish Government, Local Governance Review
• Christopher Robb, Scottish Government, Local Governance Review
• Kathleen Glazik, Scottish Government, Community Empowerment
• Simon Cameron, COSLA Chief Officer, Corporate Policy Team 
• Brianna Fletcher, COSLA Policy Officer

Apologies

• Jacqui Greenlees, Senior Manager Policy Performance and Community Planning, North Ayrshire Council
• Brian Davey, Democratic Governance Officer, Improvement Service
• Olivia Brown, MSYP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh
• Tressa Burke, Chief Executive, Glasgow Disability Alliance
• Willie Sullivan, Senior Director Campaigns and Scotland, Electoral Reform Society
• Susan Paxton, Director of Scottish Community Development Centre
• Philippa Balshaw, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Scottish Youth Parliament
• Skye Allan MSYP for Dumfriesshire

Items and actions

Welcome and introduction by chair

Group chair Katie Kelly welcomed members to the second session of the Democracy Matters Steering Group and invited members to introduce themselves and share their aspirations for the Steering Group.

Democracy Matters background and officials update

Local Governance Review officials contextualised the development of Democracy Matters and the Local Governance Review from its inception to present day. Officials also provided an overview of adjustments that were made to the work plan and terms of reference based on the feedback from the previous session.

Model development – framework A (Community Council reform)

The group was then separated into four break out groups where they each discussed the challenges and opportunities in the latest iteration of framework A which sets out potential reforms to Community Councils. They were also asked to consider what changes and additions could be made to the next iteration of the framework.

Summary of discussion

A challenge fed back was how to ensure that the wider community is represented within a reformed Community Council, given the current representation challenges of some of them. There was also challenge raised within the group about Community Councils' current effectiveness, including their inclusivity and democratic approach as well as how their capacity could feasibly be increased to ensure that they are able to develop into a body that could accommodate further powers and responsibilities.

Group members also noted however, that by reforming Community Councils, there was an opportunity to make them more inclusive and representative, with citizens potentially having more of an incentive to be a part of a body with additional powers to impact positively on their community. It was also noted that this model could have a positive impact on public finances and how services can be funded, with more of an emphasis on local delivery and results, but it was stated that this is dependent on how power is transferred to more local levels. It was also acknowledged that for this model to be a success there should be budgets devolved to community level that can be spent independently of government.

It was mentioned that a possible addition to the framework could be decision making bodies having community led action plans with an associated budget to allow communities to have clear strategic direction. Another suggestion was that there is a need to consider how to bring all Community Councils to greater parity in terms of their representation, capacity and skills, before they take on more responsibilities.

It was also noted that new structures must be independent bodies that enable existing structures and do not duplicate organisations that are already working within communities today. To enable this there needs to be further thinking about how the proposed body interacts with existing community structures.

All groups fed back that more time for discussion was required as many felt they were only starting to fully engage with the details required to move this work forward effectively.

Model development – framework B (reforms to Community Planning Partnerships' locality planning structures)

The same approach was taken from framework B which looks to utilise the locality planning process as the basis for reform, the same break out rooms and groups were used.

Summary of discussion

The group outlined many challenges to Framework B. These concerns included that locality planning is not well known within communities, in comparison to Community Councils which are better established, and this might lead to misunderstandings of their role. Group members also outlined that existing locality planning implementation is of varying quality and intent, and therefore there would need to be a review of existing processes before this could be used as the basis for future community decision making structures.

It was noted by some that there is a perception that locality planning currently is often utilised to the benefit of public sector bodies instead of the communities themselves. Group members also highlighted that locality planning may not have the democratic legitimacy necessary to implement the findings of Democracy Matters, with one breakout group stating that it can be a paternalistic mechanism, being done to communities rather than being community led. 

It was also noted that other models should be considered beyond those presented at this session, it was mentioned that a grassroots collective of communities in the north of Edinburgh could be used as an alternative case study example of democratic community decision making.

Finally, it was also noted that a future model iteration could be a framework that combines both frameworks A and B.

Next steps

• Officials will consider the feedback provided on both proposed frameworks and develop the models further for the next meeting.
• Further contact with the group members will follow this meeting to communicate how these further developed models will be shared with group members, it was agreed that group members will be given an opportunity to comment on future model iterations before meetings.