Democracy Matters phase 2: analysis of responses

3. Effective representation

Participants were invited to consider democratic representation. This chapter presents the analysis of responses to several questions which explored issues such as how to ensure community decision-making bodies reflect the diversity of their communities, how to select representatives and what the role of representatives should be.

While responses to these questions overlapped considerably, it was clear participants were interested in greater diversity among local representatives, reflecting the range of community members' experiences. Responses emphasised the importance of representatives with a deep community understanding, a passion for community improvement, and a desire to advocate for all community members.

The importance of transparency and holding local decision-makers accountable were also consistently mentioned in responses to these questions. These issues are covered in more detail in Chapter 5.

Question 3: When thinking about who might be part of new decision making bodies, what are the best ways to ensure they truly reflect their communities and enhance equality?

Question 4a: Thinking about your own community, what groups would you like to see represented through other selection methods?

The importance of diverse representation

Questions 3 and 4a asked participants to consider the makeup of community decision making bodies. Many participants advocated for representation within decision making bodies to reflect the diversity within their communities. They stressed that representation from a cross-section of the community would enhance equality, ensure decisions are based on a range of perspectives and show all community members that their voice is heard and considered.

Participants highlighted that diverse representation would ensure decisions are inclusive and that all viewpoints are considered before instituting new actions or policies on behalf of the community. For example, Social Enterprise Scotland suggested that social enterprises are often deeply rooted in the needs of communities and can provide a platform for under-represented groups "amplifying voices that might not always be heard in traditional democratic processes".

"Ensuring meaningful representation across decision-making processes is vital in the creation of a system which works for the majority of citizens. Traditionally, organisations have been led by white, heterosexual men, with their needs being prioritised over others. This has led to continued disadvantage for women and minority groups… Increasing diversity across decision-making bodies is key." – The Scottish Women's Convention

"Having people from as many households as possible is the best way to ensure true reflection and equality." – Conversation hosted by Thriving Communities CLD and South Ayrshire Council

It was suggested that groups should reflect the communities they represent through widespread involvement, transparency, strict criteria, community outreach, and reviews. Dumfries and Galloway Council noted that its Commission on Representation and Engagement (Third Sector and Protective Characteristics) has a performance measure for encouraging under-represented groups into public life.

"It would be helpful to signpost community decision-making bodies to a range of public policy documents and strategies to ensure they are making informed decisions based on current policy and programmes and to be aware of the wider public policy context. This could be done through guidance documents and best practice guides." - Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)

Including people with specific characteristics

Ensuring diversity across age, gender, sexuality, disability and ethnicity were all cited as important to consider in achieving representation.

A need for greater involvement of young people was a recurring theme across comments about representation in community decision-making. Participants considered young people to be the future of the community and noted that their unique views could add value to community decision-making processes.

Some suggested educating children and young people about local democracy, citizenship and service to the community to help them feel more empowered to participate and so that they could develop relevant skills and expertise over their lifetime. It was also noted in the Duns and Easterhouse facilitated conversations that engaging with young people can be an effective way to encourage their parents to become more aware of and involved in community decision-making.

"Groups such as young people should be included. We think this should be part of the school curriculum to change the culture around democracy. Involve young people in the decisions from the start, help them create a better future for themselves." – Conversation hosted by Toryglen Community Hall

"We don't feel that enough young people are being asked to participate, perhaps they don't take us seriously enough, but how can we do more in our community, if we are not invited or involved in the decision process?" – Conversation hosted by SYMBL CIC – Young People

Consideration of other age groups, such as the elderly, working-aged people and school children was also mentioned by some; however, there was little detail in responses as to why these groups needed greater representation. In contrast, participants at many facilitated conversations emphasised that many members of existing community decision making organisations are older or retired and therefore supported greater diversity of participants.

Many participants advocated representation from ethnic minority groups, refugees and those seeking asylum. Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights highlighted only 4% of the population in Scotland identify as from a minority ethnic background and therefore it was easy for their views to be misrepresented or drowned out. A few participants highlighted that people who identify as coming from a minority group may not feel welcomed into community meetings. A few noted that tokenistic recruitment should be avoided and instead there should be an acknowledgement of the diversity of backgrounds and experiences among people who identify as being from an ethnic minority group.

"We need to take into consideration that representation of different ethnic communities is vital. [Black and Minority Ethnic] communities should not be treated as monolithic. The lack of diversity affects the ability of decision-making bodies to engage meaningfully with all communities in Scotland." - Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights

"This question assumes that groups would want to be represented, however we know from working with equalities groups that representatives can experience disempowerment when they are the single representative voice in the room. It is more important that rather than 'select' people, that there is a requirement to link with local or national bodies that represent experiences of different equalities groups." - Argyll and Bute Council

Other groups participants suggested need to be represented, in order of prevalence, were:

• Women
• Disabled people, those with long-term health conditions and with mental health conditions
• A range socio-economic representation, such as people from diverse trades and professions
• The LGBT+ community
• Single parents
• Faith groups
• People with lived experiences of homelessness, addictions, and prison services

"People should represent what they know. An example would be a homeless person should be part of the decision-making process. A drug user the same. Another example would be deciding what is minimum wage should include people on minimum wage. How many minorities are truly represented? Very few get the opportunity." – Individual

Representatives' knowledge and experience

Several participants suggested that representatives should have expertise or specific skills relevant to their sphere of influence, and knowledge about the communities they serve.

"While striving for representation is important, it should be pursued strategically to ensure efficient reflection of community needs, not solely as a solution for perceived imbalances. Prioritise building representation based on experience, competence, and relevance to issues faced by the local community ("community of place") rather than solely on shared characteristics ("community of interest"). Avoid solely relying on socio-economic data for designing representation structures." - Scottish Forum of Community Councils

Some participants described types of professional experience which would benefit the efficient functioning of community decision making bodies. These included experience in environmental and local planning, transportation, education, health and social welfare, tourism, and budgeting. A few mentioned involving local businesses or landowners as they provide important income and community support structures.

Representation of community organisations

Several participants called for involving or recruiting representatives from existing community organisations. A range of opinions were expressed, from including representatives on new local decision-making bodies, to creating a new body comprised of these representatives as their organisations are already established and organised within the community. Others suggested that a new representative body could be lost among the many voluntary groups currently running in some communities. Existing groups that participants felt should be represented included other elected bodies such as community councils, resident associations and parent-teacher associations, and representatives of non-elected groups such as faith leaders, university staff and local health service staff. A few stressed the importance of including third-sector organisations and community groups that advocate for community members.

"Several SURF consultees drew attention to the 'messy' nature of community groups. Examples were given of places with multiple community anchor bodies, including community groups of place and theme, including development trusts, community councils, community asset owners, community arts organisations, community-based housing associations, disability groups, ethnic minority bodies, social enterprises, tenants' groups, and more. It was argued that supporting collaboration across these groups, exploring and working towards a shared vision for a local place as part of a wider partnership reflecting community demographics, would be more productive than creating a new entity and hoping it can attract and maintain a diverse membership." – SURF

Ensuring elected representatives from other levels of government were more actively involved in the local democratic processes was mentioned by a few, as was working more closely with representatives of local authorities.

Selection methods

Question 4b: What methods should these be?

Question 4b asked participants what methods should be used to ensure the groups they would like to see included in decision-making are represented. There was no overwhelming support for any one method of selecting representatives, although some provided examples of methods which could be used. The importance of selecting or ensuring representation from equalities groups was often reiterated. Some suggested quotas or sortition alongside other forms of selection, such as election, to ensure representation from specific groups. Another suggestion was to use census data to clearly understand community demographics to ensure equal representation. Others did not advocate for specific selection methods but stressed the need for diverse representation of the whole community.

"Require decision-making bodies to reflect the makeup of the community, e.g. reflect the gender balance, age profile, income levels, ethnic diversity as far as possible and to have some guidelines as to how they could be more accessible to different circumstances." - Individual

Sortition, as used in citizens' assemblies, was supported as a selection method by a few participants. They noted that this would ensure a decision making body reflects the local population. Those who supported sortition also supported those who are selected being paid for their time and contribution.

"Potential for sortition to select a cross-section of the community and ensure inclusion of people from all groups and those underrepresented currently. Although self-selection brings issues (including lack of representation in some groups), sortition could select people whom do not wish to be part of a decision-making body, so there may have to be an element of self-selection from the pool of people gathered. People could be elected from across different parts of the community as representatives." - Individual

Citizen Assemblies and Citizen Juries were also suggested as useful mechanisms to select people as well as offering specific ways to engage people (see Chapter 4 for further discussion of these methods). For example, the Scottish Youth Parliament suggested in their response that members of these panels could be chosen at random and Mull Community Council suggested revolving membership:

"A fixed term for community members in the "hot seat", in/out, short and sweet, do your bit for the community." – Conversation hosted by Mull Community Council

Regarding elections for representatives, UNISON cautioned that high levels of community participation could be challenging to achieve, noting community councils did not always secure enough nominations to require elections. Members of the facilitated conversations felt linking voting for community representatives with local authority elections could raise their profile and encourage participation. A few participants suggested that a representative board be created, recommending that the board be a mix of elected and selected officials and be made up of local leaders or community members who are already involved and contributing.

Avoid self-selection

A few participants described the disadvantages of selection methods that rely on self-selection and shared examples where few community members were interested in participating, allowing other people to 'walk into' positions. They expressed concerns that processes like this were inappropriate, fearing it could lead to decisions that were not representative of the views of, or in the interest of, the larger community. Similarly, concerns were expressed in a few facilitated conversations that the wrong method of selection could lead to special interest groups dominating a body.

"Our community council is made up of volunteers. Membership depends on people putting themselves up for election. If there are fewer volunteers than posts, they are all accepted without even a vote. If there are more, then the community is able to vote. Candidates can provide a supporting statement but often don't, so the choice is a) limited to the available pool of volunteers and b) based on very little information apart from personal knowledge of the person. If additional powers were to be given to that group, there would need to be more attempt to encourage a diversity of candidates and perhaps also some guidelines about what skills or experience would be required." - Individual

The role of representatives

Question 5a asked participants to envision what elected local representatives could do for their community. A further Question 5b focused on what could incentivise people to participate in community decision-making; this is included in Chapter 4.

Question 5a: What would the role of local elected representatives be?

Working on behalf of the community

Many participants wanted elected representatives who would consult with and respond to the concerns of their community. This included speaking on behalf of those who are less powerful and advocating for the community to higher levels of government. Some noted the importance of possessing community knowledge to enable representatives to accurately express local needs and wants. Suggested qualities of representatives included being open and honest, aware of their remit, management-focused, and having humility.

"They need to listen to their community, know their community well - who is in the community and is representing it - and that way they can know what sort of services they can provide." – Conversation hosted by the Mental Health Foundation

Many also called for representatives to gather and represent their community's opinions accurately; participants did not want representatives to make decisions in a vacuum.

"If they are elected in such a way that they better reflect the makeup of the community, then their role could include seeking and representing the views of the community and being the liaison between them and regional tiers of council." – Individual

Participants suggested ways in which community engagement could be carried out, such as consultation and open-door meetings. In most cases there was a desire for representatives to go to the community and not expect the community to go to them. Good communication was described as the starting point for understanding communities' wants and needs. Some participants articulated the role of representative as an advocate, speaker or the voice of the people, pushing against unpopular decisions and to be free from political bias.

"A voice for the unheard." – Conversation hosted by Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus

"To represent the views of the community and challenge the status quo." – Conversation hosted by Toryglen Community Hall

"To be a voice for all the people rather than a political party that does not necessarily represent everyone." - Individual

Others described the role of an advocate-representative or a guide, i.e. to help communities navigate relationships with higher levels of government and introduce community members to the democratic process. One participant viewed advocacy as a way to support local community development by showcasing improvements and highlighting what is available for locals and visitors in their area. Another participant suggested that representatives could ensure that different minority groups were represented and consulted.

Project delivery

As participants felt that community decision-making bodies should deliver projects to benefit the community, some thought that representatives should have ideas about how to improve their community and be responsible for delivering those improvements. These included:

• Environmental improvements.
• Technological.
• Technological advancements, such as district heating. advancements, such as district heating.
• Setting up community hubs, like tool libraries. Setting up community hubs, like tool libraries.
• Extending hours of key services.
• Running community services like parks and public gardens. community services like parks and public gardens.

"The role of local elected representatives could be to make decisions, within their own sphere of competence, and within the limits of an overarching local outcome improvement plan. This could be carried out with overarching guidance on delivery but without interference and direction from bodies higher up in the hierarchy." - West Lothian Council

"Elected representatives of development councils would be tasked with delivering the vision and plan arrived at by the local citizens' assembly." - Electoral Reform Society

A few noted that local representatives should monitor and evaluate the successes or failures of community projects, with one participant noting that representatives should be responsible for the success or failure of the projects they proposed. The Common Weal, however, emphasised that local representatives should not be treated like procurement managers who are responsible to higher levels of government. They suggested that the projects facilitated by representatives must stem from community consultation and be in the community's best interest.

Concerns about partisanship

Some participants supported a desire for local political representatives to be apolitical, working instead for the community's best interests rather than a political party, over multiple questions. Term limits and accountability were two ways participants suggested overcoming partisanship. New Town and Broughton Community Council felt the place of elected councillors and their role in a new system of local democracy had not been adequately considered in the consultation document.

"Concern is expressed that national party affiliations of elected members might influence local decision-making, potentially prioritising partisan interests over community needs. Local decisions should be based on what truly benefits the community, regardless of party politics." - Scottish Forum of Community Councils

"Elected members should focus more on the needs of local people over their party when engaging with the community." – Conversation hosted by the Scottish Youth Parliament