COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Kathleen Glazik Community Empowerment Team

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

SG Support for Community Councils

Community Empowerment Act

Community Engagement Tools

More Information & Contact Details

Community Councils Community Council Fairer Scotland Event

Held on 16 September 2015 •  What issues matter most to you as a community councillor? •  What do you think needs to be done to help community councils

create a fairer Scotland? •  How can your community council play a role in helping to shape

Scotland’s future?

Community Councils

Digital Engagement Workshops Autumn 2015

Ø 9 October 2015 - South Ayrshire Ø  30 October 2015 - Moray Ø 13 November 2015 - Angus Ø 20 November 2015 - Scottish Borders

Community Councils

Bi – Annual CCLO Networking Events

• share examples of good practice

• receive updates on national policies

• Discuss challenges and opportunities

Community Councils Website

Community Empowerment (Scotland )

Act 2015

• Passed by the Scottish Parliament in June 2015 & received Royal Assent on 24 July 2015. • Provides a legal framework that will promote and

encourage community empowerment and participation

• Creats new rights for community bodies and places new duties on public authorities.

•  11 topics in the Act

Community Empowerment (Scotland )

Act 2015 • National Outcomes: places a duty on Scottish Ministers

to develop, consult on and publish a set of national outcomes for Scotland.

• Community Planning: places community planning partnerships on a statutory footing and imposes duties.

• Participation Requests: provides a mechanism for communities to have a more proactive role in having their voices heard in how services are planned and delivered.

Community Empowerment (Scotland )

Act 2015 • Asset Transfer Requests: provides community bodies a

right to request to purchase, lease, manage or use land and buildings belonging to local authorities, Scottish public bodies or Scottish Ministers.

• Participation in Public Decision-Making: a new regulation-making power enabling Ministers to require Scottish public authorities to promote and facilitate the participation of members of the public in the decisions and activities of the authority, including in the allocation of its resources.

• Community Rights to Buy Land: extended to all of Scotland, and purchase of land which is abandoned, neglected or causing harm to the environmental wellbeing of the community.

Community Empowerment (Scotland )

Act 2015

The Act also covers new legislation on:

•  Common Good Property •  Allotments •  Football Clubs •  Delegation of Forestry Commissioners’ Functions •  Non-Domestic Rates

FAQ about the Act is available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/engage/CommunityEmpowermentBillFAQs.

Community Engagement Tools

Participatory Budgeting (PB)

•  “Local people having direct decision-making powers over part of a public budget”

•  Can develop engagement, confidence and capacity

•  Builds understanding of difficult decisions

•  SG providing consultancy support for Local Authorities in 2015/16

Are Councils Engaged?

January 2015 to Date

PB Consultancy Support

SG Part Funded

20 Local Authorities in 2015/16

•  Glasgow •  Edinburgh •  Fife •  Midlothian •  West Lothian •  North Ayrshire •  East Ayrshire •  South Ayrshire •  Angus •  Aberdeen •  Aberdeenshire •  Perth & Kinross •  Argyll & Bute •  West Dunbartonshire •  South Lanarkshire •  Highlands •  Western Isles •  Moray •  Shetlands •  Orkney

Community Engagement Tools PB Website – www.PBScotland.scot

Community Engagement Tools

Charrettes •  £300,000 in 2015-16 – SG Charrette programme • Projects that link community planning and spatial planning

processes • Charrette projects commissioned directly by communities •  Linkages between town centre action plans and community plans

Community Engagement Tools

SG supporting The Big Lunch Scotland

Community Engagement Tools Communities Channel Scotland Website

Contact

Kathleen.glazik@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Tel: 0131 244 0831

Community Council Website: www.communitycouncils.org.uk

Communities Channel Scotland Website:

www.communityscot.org.uk

Participatory Budgeting Website/Blog www.PBScotland@scot