In recent weeks, The Scottish Government has opened a major debate about the future structure of local government. As part of its recent publication on the issue, the government argues that some councils are “too small to be strategic” while others are “too big to be local”. The answer to this, it is floated, is a redistribution of power between a smaller number of regional authorities and a substantial number of community authorities.
The regional authorities would have responsibility for strategic decision-making around infrastructure, investment and economic development. The new Community Authorities would focus on decisions closer to residents and local places.
Of note is that the government does not propose creating another electoral tier. Existing councillors would continue to be elected at current ward level and would sit on both the community and associated regional authority. The intention is to combine the capacity of larger regional structures with more local decision-making. Separate arrangements are also proposed for island communities.
It is also considering whether functions currently exercised by other public bodies could be brought into regional or local democratic structures. The government appears to be working to a tight timescale, and says it wants to reach a shared direction with local-government partners before the end of 2026.
A welcome direction for reform
While making clear the need for further detail, this approach has considerable overlap with the longstanding position of the Electoral Reform Society Scotland. ERS Scotland has consistently argued that Scottish local government is too remote from the communities it serves, pointing to the exceptionally large geographical and population scale of many Scottish councils and wards – particularly when compared with European peers. Scotland needs institutions both capable of delivering services at scale, plus genuinely local institutions capable of giving communities power over their own place.
Power must sit closer to communities
The essential principle in this regard is subsidiarity: decisions should be taken as close as possible to the communities affected by them. Communities should have meaningful opportunities to shape decisions, develop plans and hold representatives accountable. That is why ERS Scotland has been campaigning for communities to be able to establish local citizens’ assemblies, in addition to reforming the existing structures of local government.
This element matters because simply drawing new boundaries or creating new authorities does not necessarily transfer power to citizens. Our response to the Scottish Government’s Democracy Matters process argued for transparency, participation, local autonomy and clear accountability.
The real test: power and resources
There is therefore a critical question around the government’s proposals: will the new community authorities have real power and resources, or will they simply provide a more local-looking layer within a fundamentally centralised system? Local democracy requires not only the right to decide but also the power and resources to act.
The emerging debate, which we welcome, is therefore about where power should sit. Local government reform should not merely reorganise institutions but create a more participatory system in which communities have real and continuing power over the places in which they live. Those are the guiding principles which ERS Scotland will promote throughout.
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