Tag: community engagement

EACC meets on Thursday

EDINBURGH ASSOCIATION of COMMUNITY COUNCILS

NEXT MEETING: Thursday 25 May 2023: 18.50 for 19.00 on Microsoft Teams.

Speakers:

Harald Tobermann; Chair, Edinburgh Bus Users Group:

Building the client relationship with Transport for Edinburgh.

Angela Benzies, HE Consultant, Edinburgh:

Community Council pathways for the support of local small business.

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Here is the Microsoft Teams link:  

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 322 644 206 999
Passcode: TwTidj

Download Teams | Join on the web
Learn more | 

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Update:

CEC Spatial Policy and Active Travel are promoting Clean Air Day on 15 June with a promotional “Clean Air Day Toolkit” which I attach with this email.

Other links offered are

Clean Air Hub: What Can I Do about Air Pollution?

and the

WWF carbon calculator

The link to the Scottish Air Quality monitor site is here.

Lots to consider, then.

Finally, slides from the last EACC meeting on 27 April are on the EACC site. Go to Meetings on the menu bar and to EACC Documents >> Meetings 2023.

The EACC website homepage is:

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk)

_______________________________________________

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC)
EACC Secretary; Ken Robertson
secretary@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

Jackie Weaver to give evidence as Committee marks 50th Anniversary of Scotland’s Community Councils

‘YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY HERE, JACKIE WEAVER!’

The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee is holding a session on community councils to coincide with the 50th anniversary of their establishment in Scotland, with two panels of witnesses scheduled to give evidence.

As part of the first panel the Committee will hear from Jackie Weaver who rose to fame after a video of her managing a virtual meeting of Handforth Parish Council went viral in 2021.

The Committee has invited Jackie Weaver to share her insights and experiences in local governance and management, particularly in relation to supporting parish councils.

The Committee will also hear from a panel of community councillors representing Edinburgh, Shetland, Aberdeenshire, West Lothian, Moray, Clackmannanshire and Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire who will provide evidence in a roundtable format.

The session is part of the Committee’s ongoing work looking at the Scottish Government’s Local Governance Review which aims to reform the way that Scotland is governed to give greater control to communities.

Ariane Burgess MSP – Green

Commenting ahead of the meeting, Committee Convener, Ariane Burgess MSP said: “Fifty years on from the establishment of Community Councils, it’s important that we recognise and celebrate the contributions that individuals and groups involved make to their communities.

“We also hope this session can contribute towards shaping the Scottish Government’s Local Governance Review, ensuring communities continued to be empowered and supported to do so in the decades ahead.

“The Committee are looking forward to welcoming Jackie Weaver and Community Councillors from all over Scotland to share their experiences of community involvement in decision making, and their views on how this can be improved.”

Drylaw & Telford residents to have their say on local parks and green spaces

Dylaw and Telford Community Council is delighted to announce that funding has been secured to carry out a community wide consultation to seek the views of local people on what can be done to improve the greenspaces in our area. 

This work will build on a previous consultation carried out more than 15 years ago which saw more than £500,000 worth of investment in improving local open spaces.

The £5,000 funding from the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s Community Grants Fund will enable the community council to work with Edinburgh and Lothian Greenspace Trust (ELGT) again on this exciting project. 

Over the next few months there will be a wide range of opportunities for local people to give their views on what could be done to improve some of the open spaces in our area. 

Community Council Chairperson, Jimmy Galloway, said: “We are very fortunate in our area to have some great big parks and open spaces for locals to use. These areas are busy and well used and it is now time to see what else could be done to make them even better. 

“This consultation will ensure everyone within the community gets the opportunity to give us feedback. That could be by completing an online survey or attending one of the many events that will be taking place. 

“We are really looking forward to getting started in the coming weeks and I certainly can’t wait to see the results. 

“We are working with the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust on this – they have worked with us in the past and have a great knowledge of the area and a proven track record of delivering projects.” 

Charlie Cumming, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with Drylaw and Telford community Council again to help develop plans to improve the local greenspaces. 

“There are many opportunities to help make the area greener and more biodiverse which will mitigate against climate change. The aim being to create a great place for future generations and to encourage greater use of the greenspaces for local families.”

Drylaw Telford CC meets tonight

Drylaw Telford Community Council meets tonight (Wednesday 25th January) in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre at 7pm. All welcome.

AGENDA

  1. Welcome & Apologies
  2. Declarations of Interest
  3. Minutes of Last Meeting
  4. Chair Report
  5. Secretary Report
  6. Police Report
  7. Treasurer Report
  8. Councillors Report
  9. Update on DNC
  10. Open Space Consultation
  11. Any other business?

Date of next meeting 22nd February 2023

Audit Scotland: Scotland’s councils face mounting financial challenges

Councils across Scotland faced significant financial challenges during 2021/22 and are now entering the most difficult budget setting context seen for many years. Increasingly difficult choices about spending priorities will need to be made.

The Accounts Commission, the independent body that holds councils to account, said that even with additional Covid-19 funding during 2021-22, councils had to make significant savings last year to balance their budgets.

Many councils have also used reserves to bridge funding gaps and fund vital services. This is expected to be the case in 2022/23. The £570 million of additional funding for 2023/24, announced in the December budget, will help councils address upcoming cost challenges, but further change and reform across all councils is required to ensure longer-term financial sustainability.

When compared to the 2013/14 Scottish Government revenue funding position to local government, 2021-22 represented the first real-terms increase in six years (excluding one-off Covid-19 money). But an increasing amount of council funding is either formally ringfenced or provided on the expectation it will be spent on specific services and national policy objectives. This supports the delivery of key Scottish Government policies yet removes local discretion and flexibility over how these funds can be used by councils.

William Moyes, Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “It’s clear the financial situation of councils is increasingly fragile. Councils are having to deal with the effects of inflation, the increasingly desperate cost of living impacts and rising demand for services, whilst at the same time delivering vital day to day services to their communities.

“To be financially sustainable, councils must deliver savings and reduce reliance on non-recurring reserves to fill budget gaps.

“If they are to find a safe path through the difficult times ahead, councils need to focus more on service reform, alongside meaningful engagement with their communities, about what services can be provided given the financial pressures they are facing.”

Citizens’ Panel views on Public Participation to be heard by MSPs

TODAY (Wednesday 14th December), MSPs on the Citizens Participation and Public Petitions Committee (CPPPC) will hear recommendations on how the Scottish Parliament can better engage with the people of Scotland.

Earlier this year, the CPPPC launched an inquiry into public participation, looking at how people’s voices are heard in the work of the Parliament. A Citizens’ Panel, comprised of 19 people broadly reflecting the demographic make-up of Scotland, met in Holyrood throughout October and November to deliberate how the Scottish Parliament can best work with people and communities to ensure their needs are reflected in its work.

Throughout the sittings, the Citizen’s Panel heard from MSPs, Scottish Parliament officials, third-sector organisations and leading academics about democracy and public participation to help facilitate discussion and inform their findings.

The Citizens’ Panel made 17 recommendations on improving how Holyrood’s work involves, reflects, and meets the needs of the full range of communities it represents, focusing on improving engagement for those currently under-represented.

Recommendations from the panel include improving community engagement, how the Parliament uses deliberative democracy, public involvement in Parliamentary business and the way Parliament communicates and educates the public on its work, specifically:

  • Removing barriers to participation so that everyone has an equal opportunity to be involved in the work of the Parliament
  • Legislating to embed deliberative democracy within the Parliamentary process
  • Scheduling specific time in the debating Chamber for individual public questions to be asked
  • Giving the Presiding Officer the power to compel MSPs to give a direct answer to all questions asked.

Five of the panellists, Gillian Ruane, Paul MacDonald, John Sultman, Maria Schwarz and Ronnie Paterson will present their findings to the CPPPC this week.

Following the evidence session, the Committee’s interim report will be published, and the Citizens’ Panel recommendations will go out to public consultation on 16th December for 8 weeks on the Scottish Parliament’s Your Priorities platform.

Commenting ahead of the Committee meeting, Convener Jackson Carlaw MSP said: “The work of the Citizens’ Panel on public participation has been invaluable to our inquiry, bringing fresh perspectives and bold ideas to the table around how Parliament can better engage with individuals, groups and communities from every part of Scotland.

“Ensuring the Scottish Parliament is accessible to a diverse range of people, particularly when developing new laws or policies that affect them, is essential and the recommendations made by the Citizens’ Panel have certainly given the Committee food for thought.

“The Committee will look forward to hearing from panel members this week and learning more about their experiences of the deliberative democracy process and how MSPs and the Parliament can best deliver on their recommendations.”  

Citizens-Panel-Report_FinalDownload

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils AGM tonight

EACC: EVOC Presentation and AGM: 24 November 2022, at 19.00

This will now be a TEAMS screen meeting (with doors open at 18.50). 

We are going to use a facility hosted by CEC Governance Division, with the provision of a Council Returning Officer for the Members’ Board election.  

Please note the Meeting ID and Passcode.

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Click here to join the meeting (or copy and paste the link to your browser).

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YWYyMzI5ZWMtNTYzOC00MjdjLTg3M2ItZGRhNTU4MTczNGMw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22482a4ef9-66e4-4e76-9f24-6da09a713ed4%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e5b58711-a7ee-4fcd-8fda-65a7424cbc8f%22%7d

Meeting ID: 387 653 264 326
Passcode: P7p2hD

Where asked to sign-in with a screen display name, please adopt the following procedure: 

If you are carrying your council’s vote, please sign in to the Teams screen meeting with a clear CC identifier, preceded by two asterisks and followed by your surname, along the lines of:

**GRANGE – ROBERTSON

**CORST – KERR

**LTHLNK – MILLAR

If you are not carrying a vote, just sign in as FIRST NAME LAST NAME.

If you have any queries, contact me at: 

Secretary@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk  or sillertonhill@gmail.com 

or call me on 078 1615 2994. 

The event will be recorded.

In attending, you will be giving your permission for the recording to take place.

AGM Agenda:

1. Record of attendance;

2. Minutes of November 2021 AGM submitted for adoption;

3. Record of February 2022 EGM submitted for adoption;

4. Standing Orders (November 2022 revision) submitted for adoption;

5. Chair’s Annual Report;

6. Secretary’s Annual Report;

7. Treasurer’s submission of Annual Accounts to March 2022 for adoption;

8. Any other relevant Office Bearer reports;

9. Consideration of any Motions to be put to the meeting;

10. Demit of current Office Bearers;

11. Election of Community Council members to EACC Office Bearer posts and to panel seats on the EACC Members’ Board;

12. Appointment of an Independent Examiner of the Accounts;

13. Any other competent business, as determined by the Chair;

14. Set date of next AGM and close the meeting.

Ken Robertson

Acting-Secretary, EACC

Drylaw Telford CC meets tonight

Drylaw Telford Community Council meets tonight (Wednesday 23 November) in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre at 7pm. All Welcome!

Agenda

  1. Welcome & Apologies
  2. Declarations of Interest
  3. Minutes of Last Meeting
  4. Police Report
  5. Chair Report
  6. Secretary Report
  7. Treasurer Report
  8. Councillors Report
  9. Telford Road works
  10. Drylaw Park & other greenspaces – (Amenities and grass cutting)
  11. DNC Update
  12. AOB
  13. Date of next meeting 25th January 2023