This meeting will cover the proposed changes to the Scottish Borders Community Council Scheme, which the council is required to review from time to time. The council will be asked to approve a draft of the amended scheme so that it can be issued for statutory public consultation, which would last for three months.

Review of Community Council Scheme

The report pack for this meeting contains a draft of the amended Scottish Borders Council Scheme for Community Councils, which sets out the legal framework for community councils in the area. The report pack explains that Community Councils were first established in Scotland under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. That Act, and the subsequent Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, require each local authority in Scotland to produce a scheme that explains how community councils in their area will be created, how they will function, and what their role is. It also requires that this scheme is reviewed from time to time and that the public is consulted on any proposed changes. The current scheme was approved by the council in 2014.

The main changes to the scheme concern the Parish of Stow Community Council. The scheme sets out the number of seats that each community council has, and how they are allocated, and the report pack explains that a working group of councillors, officers and community councillors is proposing that the Parish of Stow Community Council's membership is changed from 12 members to 8, with 4 seats allocated to Stow and 4 to Fountainhall. Previously there were 10 seats in Stow and 2 in Fountainhall. This change was proposed by the Parish of Stow Community Council in August 2023.

The other change proposed by the working group is the introduction of a Community Council handbook, which has been created with the aim of providing guidance and helpful resources for Community Councils. The handbook is not subject to the same statutory consultation legislation as the scheme itself, and so it will be able to be updated more regularly. The report explains that the handbook is intended to be a “living” document.

The report states that:

Some changes within the scheme relate to points of clarification and typographical errors.

If the council approves the draft scheme for consultation, the consultation would commence on 22 January 2025 and close on 21 April 2025. Following that, there will be a working group meeting in May to consider the comments received, and the council is scheduled to meet again on 26 June 2025 to approve the final amended scheme.

The report pack says that, without the changes, the council faces a risk of reputational harm because:

The current Scheme has been in place for ten years and the amendment process has been ongoing for a considerable period of time.

The report pack contains the current scheme for community councils, which was approved in 2014, the proposed amended scheme for community councils, and the proposed community council handbook. The handbook contains a guide to running community council elections, an example community council constitution, an example set of standing orders, a guide to the roles and responsibilities of office bearers, advice on financial management, an example complaints procedure, and a template for a privacy notice. It also includes guidance on data protection for community councils and an explanation of equality, discrimination and unconscious bias.