Improvement Service

Findings of a national survey on elected member development across Scottish local government, carried out by the Improvement Service (IS). The IS has developed a National Elected Member Development Strategy in consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders, which aims to provide councillors with more structured and focused support. This survey attempted to establish the current level of support and development opportunities available to councillors and the requirements for future support from the strategy.

Report of the Local Government Information Unit's investigation into the role of frontline councillors in their neighbourhoods. It describes the Learning Network, which brought together 29 councils from across England to share learning and develop policy. It discusses the policy context in which the investigation was carried out and considers the concept of community leadership, looking at the relationship between councillors and other local actors. It also assesses the tools and mechanisms available to support councillors' engagement with their communities, focusing on Councillor Call for Action (CCfA), petitions, Neighbourhood Charters, councillor budgets, devolved budgets, participatory budgeting, neighbourhood planning and participatory appraisal, neighbourhood scrutiny, the Duty to Involve, and working with the third sector. The report also includes case studies of good practice.

A collection of essays on local government leadership, presented by the IDeA and the Leadership Centre for Local Government. The collection includes the thoughts of political leaders from the three main parties, research pieces and different slants on the business of leadership in local government.

This report presents the findings of a survey of all councillors elected in May 2007. The main aim of the survey was to develop a comprehensive picture of Scottish councillors, including gender, age, educational level, employment status, household income, and caring responsibilities. In addition, the survey explored wider issues such as why the councillors stood for election, and their training and development experiences.

This report explores the councillors' reasons for standing down; key changes that have shaped local government; what local government will look like in the future; supports and barriers to being an effective councillor; experiences of training and development; advice for councillors elected for the first time in 2007. Among the key findings are: Retirement or age was the most frequently mentioned reason for standing down. Multi-member wards and the move to STV were important secondary factors influencing people's decisions to stand down from office. Forty per cent of respondents identified the move to unitary councils in 1996 as the most significant change to local government during their time in office. A high percentage of respondents viewed reduction in central government funding (73%), move to STV voting system (73%) and the introduction of multi-member wards (69%) as very significant for the future of local government. Financial constraints was by far the most commonly selected factor which prevented respondents from being as effective as they would have liked in their role as a councillor. If somebody asked for advice on whether to stand for election as a local councillor, over two-third of respondents (69%) said they would recommend standing.

This report explores the experiences and attitudes of those serving councillors who decided to stand down in 2007. The research explores: reasons for standing down; key changes that have shaped local government; what local government will look like in the future; supports and barriers to being an effective councillor; experiences of training and development; advice for councillors elected for the first time in 2007.

Following the last local government elections in Scotland in 2003 a survey was conducted with elected members. This document reports on the findings of this survey. The first part of the survey acted as a census of the councillors in 2003 and covers areas such as age, gender, employment status, education etc. The second part of the survey asked the councillors about their different roles, their understanding of key local government issues and their opinion on the key priorities for the next four years.

Learning from experiences in Wales, England, Ireland and New Zealand Research into multi-member ward working, conducted by the Improvement Service. The research explores the anticipated effects of multi-member wards on the day-to-day work of councillors and officials in Scotland, drawing on experiences from Wales, England, Ireland and New Zealand.

With an influx of new, young councillors expected in May 2007, we asked current elected members to share their thoughts on the highs and lows of the job and to offer advice to the next generation of community warriors. This article is based upon interviews conducted with Scottish councillors at the 2006 COSLA Conference.

Research by the Improvement Service which looks at induction programmes and materials for elected members across Scottish local government. The report compares the materials produced by 14 councils following the 2003 elections and examines the preparatory work conducted for 2007. It also compares programmes in Scottish local government to those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Improvement Service is working to develop core induction materials for use in individual councils across Scotland. In order to ensure that the induction materials produced will be focused and relevant to the needs of newly elected councillors, research is being conducted on current and planned induction programmes and materials throughout Scotland and for elected members in other parts of the UK. All Scottish councils were asked to provide details of their induction programmes and materials for elected members. The findings represented here are based primarily on information provided from the 14 Scottish councils who responded to our request for information.

Local government is now engaged in a very wide range of partnership working. This study, by Mick Wilkinson and Gary Craig of Hull University, explores the role of councillors in partnerships with a view to identifying ways in which they might be supported in the new roles which partnership working requires of them.

Report commissioned by the Improvement Service to review existing Scottish local authority members' support services, including councillor training; identify examples of good practice from Scotland and beyond; identify areas for improvement in members' support; and recommend frameworks and procedures to assist Councils to support elected members.