Highland Council engagement regarding breaches of the Community Council Code of Conduct: FOI release

Information requested

• Legal Rationale: All information held by the Scottish Government, including legal advice and internal communications, detailing the rationale for The Highland Council's current position regarding the implementation of a censure and sanction system for breaches of the Code of Conduct within its Scheme of Establishment for Community Councils.
• Highland Council Engagement: All information held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence and meeting notes, relating to engagement between The Highland Council and the Scottish Government and/or any other relevant bodies on this matter. This should include the written instruction or encouragement received by The Highland Council from the Minister for Local Government in 2017.
• Submissions and Feedback: All information held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence and feedback, related to submissions sent to the Scottish Government by The Highland Council.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have all of the information you have requested. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have all the information you have requested.

Legal Rationale: The Scottish Government does not have any information detailing the rationale for The Highland Council’s current position regarding the implementation of a censure and sanction system for breaches of the Code of Conduct within its Scheme of Establishment for Community Councils.

Highland Council Engagement: I enclose a copy of the letter issued to all councils from the Minister for Local Government and Housing in 2017 that you requested. No response was received from the Highland Council.

The Scottish Government received correspondence from Councillor Raymond Bremner on the 24 November 2024 in relation to whether community councillors should be considered within the Ethical Standards in Public Life (Scotland) Act. I enclose this letter and the response issued from the Minister for Public Finance on the 16 January 2025.

The Scottish Government received correspondence from a member of a community council in the Highlands and took advice from the Improvement Service in relation to the wording of the Highland Council complaints webpage. This resulted in a conversation with Highland Council officers on 19 May 2025. I enclose this email chain, however, no meeting notes were recorded.

Submissions and Feedback: The Scottish Government does not have any further information, including correspondence and feedback, related to submissions sent to the Scottish Government by the Highland Council.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested, as personal information has been redacted throughout the disclosed documents.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500485615 - Information released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

2.0 MB