Local Government Candidates Survey 2022

2. Introduction

Data on who stands for election to Scotland's councils has historically tended to be very inconsistent. The Scottish Government and partners recognise that gaining a better understanding of who stands, and who is elected, is important so that we can understand how representative our candidates and elected members are of the communities they serve. This in turn will also help organisations working to increase access to elected office to work with accurate data. It will also assist organisations such as COSLA and the Improvement Service have a better picture of the characteristics and range of experiences and responsibilities of councillors to help them plan most effectively how to support them.

In response to this the Scottish Government worked with the Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB), the Electoral Commission (EC), COSLA and the Improvement Service as well as a range of equality stakeholders developed a survey designed to collect diversity data of candidates standing for election.

All candidates who stood for election in the May 2022 local council elections were invited to complete the brief voluntary questionnaire on their demographic characteristics, previous political experience and caring responsibilities. Where possible the questions were designed to mirror those in the 2022 Census and/or the Scottish Household Survey so that data could be compared with the national picture.

This report sets out the initial key findings from this survey as well as providing some background contextual information on the collection of equalities data for elected officials.