By Helen Moody | 15 August 2014
Local councils across Scotland should be given major tax-raising powers, according to a report on strengthening local democracy.
With nearly a month to go before the Scottish independence referendum on September 18, the Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy said radical change was needed to ‘re-build Scottish democracy’.
The group was formed last October to look at how to localise public services and reform town hall funding in Scotland.
Today’s Effective Democracy: Reconnecting with Communities report recommended that local authorities should have full control of the whole range of property taxes, including council tax, and the freedom to set these in ways that suit local circumstances.
The commission, which was established by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities but run separately, said that at least half of town halls’ income should be raised locally. Giving local communities the democratic power to look after their own financial affairs was ‘fundamental’ to local democratic choices and participation, and can also help the economy, it stated.
It also recommended increasing the freedom of councils to decide levels of local taxation in relation to the services wanted by people locally outside the Scottish Government’s council tax freeze, which has been in place for seven years.
The report also calls for a fundamental review of the structure, boundaries, functions and democratic arrangements for all local governance in Scotland.
Councillor David O'Neill, who is both commission chair and Cosla president said: ‘Today, the argument is no longer about whether Scotland is out of step with other modern democracies. Instead, it is between those who think that this is acceptable, and those who believe that it must change. The question is about what democracy should be like in the years to come.
‘In this report, we argue that it is time to take a much bolder step towards giving communities real choices, and putting the future into their hands.’
The report also suggested creating more councils to give local people more powers.
It proposes various models to reform the current system of 32 unitary councils. Among these was a plan to maintain the single-tier system with a much larger number of smaller authorities responsible for all services that can be governed, planned and delivered at local level.
Another option would be a two-tier structure, with between 150-200 ‘community governments’ responsible for local services formed below the 32 current authorities.
