Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Understanding barriers to participation in local politics
The Committee is undertaking work looking at the lack of diversity in Scotland’s councillors and the barriers which can stop people from participating in local politics.
The Improvement Service undertook a survey of councillors in Scotland between 2017 and 2022 and found that of those who responded.
• 67% were aged 50 or above
• 65.7% were male
• 98% were white
Find out more about the Improvement Service Report: Scotland's Councillors 2017-2022 (improvementservice.org.uk)
Previous Work
The Committee held sessions to help inform this work in November 2021. The meeting papers and official report of that meeting are available via the following link: Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 12th Meeting, 2021 | Scottish Parliament Website.
The Committee then agreed to postpone further work until after the local elections had taken place in May 2022.
The Scottish Government invited local election candidates to complete a diversity survey to assess any changes or emerging trends in relation to candidates with one or more protected characteristics. The results of the survey were published in November 2022 and can be accessed here: Local Government Candidates Survey 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The Committee took evidence from Scottish Government officials on the results of the Candidate Diversity Survey on 6 December 2022. The meeting papers and official report are available via the following link: Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 31st Meeting, 2022 | Scottish Parliament Website
The Committee also took evidence from relevant stakeholders on 1 November 2022, with a particular focus on increasing participation of women in local politics. The meeting papers and official report are available via the following link: Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 26th Meeting, 2022 | Scottish Parliament Website
Ongoing work
The Committee has heard that one of the key barriers to participation in local elected politics is the relatively low rate of pay to councillors for what can be a very busy role. In November 2022, the Scottish Government reconvened the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) “to undertake a one-off independent review of Councillor remuneration” before making recommendations to the Scottish Government about councillors’ pay. SLARC is expected to report its findings in autumn 2023 and the Committee expects to take evidence on the report when published.
In March 2023, the Committee wrote to political parties represented in councils asking what steps they were taking to encourage greater diversity in their candidates and councillors. The Committee’s letter and the responses from parties can be accessed under the “Correspondence” section of this page.
In June 2023, the Committee wrote to Scottish local authorities asking about the services and support they provide to councillors. The letter can also be accessed below under “Correspondence”
You can view the responses from Scottish local authorities.
The Committee also expects to consider the responses from parties and councils in future evidence sessions.