Preparing for elected office in Scottish local government

What will you gain from being a councillor?

The knowledge and skills that councillors gain from carrying out their duties can benefit them in many other aspects of life and work. If elected, you will meet a wide range of people from different backgrounds and with different world views than your own. Learning to work effectively with people whom you do not always agree with builds strong interpersonal skills.

You can develop greater competence and confidence in various communications skills by listening carefully, speaking in public and explaining complex issues to the public. The role would also strengthen your problem‑solving and critical‑thinking skills, as councillors weigh evidence, balance competing priorities and make decisions that affect people’s lives. You would gain experience in teamwork, partnership‑building and constructive challenge.

The role requires resilience, and being able to balance the competing demands on your time is a great life skill to have. Overall, serving as a councillor offers practical leadership experience that can be transferred into many careers and other areas of life.

Scotland’s 32 councils were created by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The 32 councils are ‘unitary’ local authorities, which cover all areas of local government responsibility and replaced the previous regional and district councils in 1996. As such, each council has a wide range of responsibilities, including providing education services, supporting economic development, maintaining roads and much more.

While Scottish councils carry out mostly similar functions and services to one another, there are vital differences that bring about different challenges:

• Councils in Scotland range in geographical size from 23 square miles (Dundee City Council, n.d.) to 10,226 square miles (The Highland Council, 2026).
• Populations for which councils are responsible range from 22,000 (Orkney Islands Council) to 650,000 (Glasgow City Council) (National Records of Scotland, 2025).
• Unsurprisingly, given the vast differences in the geographical size and populations, councils can have vastly different budgets, ranging from around £120 million (Orkney Islands Council) to £2.2 billion (Glasgow City Council) (Scottish Government, 2025).
• On average, a council in Scotland has 38 councillors. The councils for Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire and Midlothian have the fewest (18); Glasgow City Council has the most (85).

Wards

Councils are divided into wards for electoral purposes. Each ward is designed for electoral parity, with legislation requiring wards to have ‘as nearly as may be’ the same number of electors per councillor (Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland, 2014).

In mainland councils each ward will elect three or four councillors. Councils with Island communities – Argyll and Bute Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, North Ayrshire Council, Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council, and The Highland Council – can have wards with between one and five councillors. While most candidates live in the ward in which they are standing for election, this is not a requirement.

While councillors have a responsibility to ensure the interests of their ward are fed into the policy and decision-making processes of the council, they are expected to take decisions in the best interests of the whole council area. If elected, this is a tension that you will need to balance: on occasion you may view a decision as being right for the council as a whole but not in the best interests of your ward.

Councils provide many essential local services, including:

• schools
• social care
• waste collection
• road maintenance
• planning and licensing
• cultural and leisure services.

Councils are creatures of statute; that is to say, the services they provide and the functions they carry out, are a result of certain powers and duties conferred on them by legislation made by the Scottish or UK Parliaments.

The services that councils provide are:

• statutory (mandatory), with Acts of Parliament laying down specific duties that councils must carry out
• discretionary (permissive), which councils can do if they wish – and they can charge for them, where legislation doesn’t prevent them from doing so.

Councils cannot take actions which are ultra vires – that is, ‘beyond the powers’ that Acts of Parliament confer upon them. Councils have a general power to advance wellbeing, which allows them to do anything that they think appropriate if it promotes the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of their areas and communities (Local Government in Scotland Act 2003).

Should you decide to stand for election and be successful, you will need to balance the need for the council to carry out its statutory duties appropriately while also deciding how to use the discretionary powers available to the council. You do not need to do this on your own because the council employs officers to help and advise you.

It may surprise you to learn about some of the things that your council must do, as well as what it can choose to do. Have a go at the following activity to find out how much you know about what your council needs to do versus what it can choose to do.

You can find out more about the powers and duties of your council at The Duties and Powers Portal.

Every council in Scotland will have meetings of the ‘full council’, which involves every councillor taking part in a meeting and voting on the issues that are brought before them.

Provisions in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 allow local authorities to devolve most decision-making to a committee, sub-committee or officers of the council. Local authorities in Scotland must take corporate decisions: there is no legal provision for policies being made by individual councillors.

These provisions allow local authorities to decide what decision-making arrangements they wish to have, which broadly follow one of two structures: a committee or cabinet/executive system.

Committee system

Around two-thirds of councils in Scotland operate a committee system. The remit for committees will be decided by the council and specified within its constitutional documents.

Committees are set up to have a mixture of responsibilities, such as policy development, decision-making and scrutinising the performance of council services.

Committees can be set up to cover specific service areas, such as education, or to have broader, thematic remits: children and young people, for example. There are pros and cons for each type of committee and it is up to the council to decide what will work best for them.

If you are elected and are chosen to serve on a committee, you will need to familiarise yourself with that committee’s remit and what your role is as a committee member.

Cabinet/executive system

Around one-third of councils operate a cabinet or executive system, whereby a small ‘executive’ group of councillors take most of the decisions. In legal terms, the cabinet or executive is still a committee.

Where an executive or cabinet model is chosen, it is necessary to create much more forceful structures to scrutinise these executive bodies. This tends to take the form of scrutiny committees (or panels) where non-executive or non-cabinet councillors can question and challenge the performance of the executive or cabinet in a manner that will enable public debate.

This type of system can allow for more streamlined decision-making; however, critics believe that it is less democratic.

Apart from the three Island authorities (Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council), councils in Scotland operate with political ‘administrations’. Your council may have a different name for this.

Administrations have no formal, legal functions or powers as set out in legislation, although a council’s own constitutional documents may set out some of their powers.

In general, they are formed in councils with political party groupings to provide three informal functions:

• Letting the electorate know who to hold accountable (i.e. which political group or groups are in control).
• Letting councillors know where power lies within the council.
• Letting council officers know where power lies within the council.

The single transferable vote (STV) electoral system used in Scotland’s local government elections means that it is uncommon for majority administrations to be formed with one political group. Usually, they require two or more political groups, or even some independent councillors, to form a coalition or partnership to have a majority of votes in the council. This allows that administration to appoint councillors to senior positions within the council (Leader of the Council, Provost, Convener/Chair, etc.), which come with additional responsibilities and remuneration.

Minority administrations can also be formed, where usually one or more political groups makes informal alliances with other groups or independent councillors. These informal alliances allow the administration to get key votes on appointments to senior positions through council, along with key policy and budgetary decisions.

If you choose to stand and are successful in being elected to a council on the mainland, you could become part of a political administration. This in turn could lead to you being given additional roles and responsibilities. This will affect the amount of time that you might need to spend on councillor duties, as well as the level of public scrutiny of you as a councillor.

You may find that you are not part of a political administration, often referred to as an ‘opposition’ or ‘non-administration’ councillor. This role will likely mean less influence in setting policy and providing political direction, with a greater emphasis on scrutinising the council’s decisions.

Local government in Scotland operates in a landscape where no single organisation can deliver the outcomes that communities need on its own. Councils are expected (and in certain cases are legally required) to work in partnership with other public bodies. This collaborative approach reflects the reality that challenges, such as health, poverty and economic wellbeing, cross-organisational boundaries and require joint solutions.

Councils can also create Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs) to deliver specific services and functions such as leisure, culture, property management or economic development. ALEOs are separate legal bodies – they are often charities or companies – but they remain accountable to the council for delivering their objectives.

There are many partnership bodies that a councillor can be appointed to as a representative of the council. The two major partnerships are Community Planning Partnerships and Integration Authorities.

Community Planning Partnerships

Every council in Scotland is part of a Community Planning Partnership (CPP), a statutory body that brings together councils, NHS boards, police, fire services, colleges, other public bodies, the third sector and community representatives to plan and deliver better local outcomes. A CPP’s purpose is to focus partners’ collective efforts on improving services and reducing inequality across the local area.

CPPs give councillors a role in helping to align local priorities, championing community voices and ensuring that collaboration across public service organisations leads to meaningful change for communities.

Integration Authorities

Under the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014, each council and NHS board must jointly establish an Integration Authority (IA) to plan and fund integrated health and social care services. Most areas use an Integration Joint Board (IJB) as the body corporate model, whereas in the Highlands an Integration Joint Monitoring Committee (IJMC) is used.

IAs bring together councillors, NHS board members, third sector organisations, professional advisers, carers and service‑user voices to shape local health and social care strategy and investment.

Some councillors are appointed to decision-making roles on an IA, which brings with it additional responsibilities that will require time and personal resilience.

Councillors who are not appointed to such roles will still make decisions about how much funding the IA receives from the council, as well as scrutinising how health and social care services are planned and delivered effectively to meet the needs of communities.

With social care being one of the biggest areas of expenditure for councils, and with demand for services increasing, integration of health and social care will continue to be a major challenge for councillors.

If you decide to stand and are successful in being elected, you will be a member of a council responsible for setting a balanced budget and spending hundreds of millions, if not billions, of pounds of public money.

To be an effective councillor you will need to able to make choices about where and how the council spends this money. Understanding the financial context is crucial for appreciating the challenge that councillors face in balancing budgets and sustaining services.

All the statutory and discretionary services that your council provides need to be paid for. It is important to understand how councils are funded and some of the limitations that they have in being able to spend their budget as they wish.

Council budgets are separated into two distinct areas:

• revenue funding for day-to-day services
• capital funding for infrastructure.

Although capital funding cannot be used to run day-to-day services, it will contribute to delivering those services by ensuring that the critical infrastructure that services require – such as land, buildings and equipment – are in place.

Revenue funding

The Scottish Government provides a block grant to councils that makes up around 85% of their net revenue expenditure (Scottish Government, n.d. 1). This block grant has three parts:

• The general revenue grant (GRG), provided to councils by the Scottish Government to support their core local services. Most of this money is not ring‑fenced, giving councils the flexibility to allocate it according to local priorities. However, some elements of the GRG are linked to national policy commitments. While this does not mean that the money is formally ring‑fenced, these amounts are given with the expectation that councils will use them for the intended services (Audit Scotland, 2025).
• Non‑domestic rates (NDR) are taxes on business properties, set and pooled nationally but raised locally. The total income is redistributed to councils using a formula agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). Each council receives a share based on its latest income returns, helping fund local services as part of overall revenue funding.
• Specific revenue grants are ring‑fenced funds that councils must spend on specific Scottish Government priorities. Allocations vary by council and are detailed in finance circulars. They support targeted policies such as:
  • Gaelic language initiatives
  • early learning and childcare expansion
  • the Pupil Equity Fund
  • criminal justice social work.

Councils also raise local funding to spend on the provision of services:

• Council tax, a local property tax paid by households that councils use to fund services. Councils can only set the Band D rate of council tax, with other band rates then calculated using nationally set multipliers based on 1991 property values (Local Government Finance Act 1992).
• Fees and charges such as parking charges, waste collection or leisure services. Councils can only charge for services where legislation allows it.

From July 2026 councils will also have the power to introduce a visitor levy – commonly known as a ‘tourist tax’ – on overnight accommodation. It will be up to individual councils whether they introduce a visitor levy in all or part of the council area. The funds generated from the levy must be used on services or facilities used by tourists (Scottish Government, n.d. 2).

While council tax, fees and charges are important levers for financing local services, national funding makes up the majority of a council’s budget.

If your council has housing stock, it is required to have a Housing Revenue Account (HRA). This is a ring‑fenced account that the council must maintain to record all income and expenditure related to its housing stock. HRAs must include rental income, income from selling or investing in HRA assets, and expenditure on managing, maintaining, repairing and improving council housing, as well as loan charges for housing‑related borrowing. HRAs are expected to be self‑financing (meaning that income must cover expenditure) and they cannot end the year in deficit (Scottish Government, 2026).

Capital funding

Capital funding supports Scottish councils’ investment in long‑term assets such as schools, roads, buildings, vehicles, and other infrastructure that lasts more than one financial year.

The Scottish Government provides two main types of capital grants:

• A general capital grant forms part of the annual Local Government Finance Settlement and can be used for a wide range of capital projects aligned with local and national priorities.
• Specific capital grants are also part of the annual Local Government Finance Settlement. They are ring‑fenced and must be used for particular projects.

In addition to government grants, councils finance capital spending through:

• borrowing
• capital receipts generated from selling council assets such as land or buildings – these can only be used for new capital investment or debt repayment
• revenue contributions from councils’ own revenue budgets or reserves.

There are strict rules on what a capital budget can be spent on. It cannot be moved over to the revenue budget (Falkirk Council, n.d.).

Data from the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) (Improvement Service, n.d.) shows long-term trends that demonstrate a significant shift in the way councils have spent their budgets since 2010/11:

• adult social care: up 31%
• education: up 20%
• economic development: up 10%
• culture and leisure: cut 27%
• planning: cut 28%
• support services: cut 25%.

These trends point to a prioritisation of statutory services like education and social care, while discretionary services such as culture and leisure have faced deep cuts (LGBF, n.d.). This highlights the challenges facing councillors when it comes to setting a balanced budget. The need to prioritise the budget for the two biggest areas of council spending (education and social care) will have a major impact on funding for services that communities also rely on, and which can often be more visible (e.g. roads, parks or leisure spaces).

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Figure 1 Changes in councils’ spending since 2010/11 (LGBF, n.d.).

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A graph showing the percentage change in councils’ spending on various service areas: total general fund up 1%, support services cut 25%, planning cut 28%, roads cut 12%, environmental services cut 15%, culture and leisure cut 27%, economic development up 10%, looked after children up 18%, education up 20% and adult social care up 31%.

Figure 1 Changes in councils’ spending since 2010/11 (LGBF, n.d.).

The Accounts Commission highlighted the budget pressures that councils are facing despite increased funding, with a revenue budget gap of around 3.4% of total revenue budgets in 2025–26 (Audit Scotland, 2025). This pressure is mostly due to:

• inflation and rising energy costs
• annual pay settlements and higher employer National Insurance contributions
• growing demand for social care and education.

With councils forecasting further gaps in years to come, their ongoing financial health will be challenging. Without significant fiscal reform or new revenue sources, councils will remain under pressure to make difficult trade-offs between statutory obligations and discretionary services.

Councils in Scotland are an elected sphere of government, along with the Scottish and UK Parliaments.

It is important for prospective candidates to understand the relationship between the different governments and parliaments that contribute to the governance of Scotland because, ultimately, this impacts how councils are financed and what they do.

Community councils are also a part of the governance of Scotland, although they have limited powers and budgets, and very few require contested elections.

There will probably be one or more community council(s) operating in the electoral ward you may choose to stand in, so you should take some time to find out how many there are and what areas they cover.

The following video has more information about community councils (Improvement Service, 2018).

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NARRATOR:

What is a community council community? Community councils are voluntary organisations that represent views of local people on matters that affect them. They are run by local people to act on behalf of their area. Community councils have a statutory right to be consulted on applications for planning permission and licensing boards need to notify community councils of any new premises license application and applications that substantially change how an existing premise operates. So what do community councils do? Community councils bridge the gap between local authorities and communities by representing local people's views on planning permission licensing applications. Community councils vary in size and how they engage with their community. To promote upcoming meetings they often post on community notice boards, put flyers and libraries, and share information on social media. Many community councils also work with local businesses and other local groups to promote consultations events and future meetings. Community councils undertake projects that benefit their community and improve their area. Here's a few examples. Many community councils organise events like gala days and Christmas lights switch-ons. Community councils campaign for local issues. Community councils share with and highlight information to the community on behalf of residents and other organizations. Community councils can lead on or contribute to development plans for their local area. For more information visit www.communitycouncils.scot

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UK Parliament

The UK Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom and comprises three parts:

• Sovereign (Monarch)
• House of Commons (650 elected MPs)
• House of Lords (appointed members).

It possesses legislative supremacy, holding ultimate authority and retaining power over reserved matters across the UK. Its functions include passing laws and public expenditure, as well as scrutinising the UK Government.

The UK Parliament sets its budget, which determines the size of the block grant allocated to Scotland through the Barnett Formula (Keep, 2026). This grant forms the largest portion of the Scottish Government’s funding and is adjusted based on changes in spending on comparable services in England. While Scotland has devolved tax powers, UK budget choices directly shape the resources available for Scottish public services and policy priorities.

The Scottish Parliament was established in the UK Parliament’s Scotland Act 1998 and was given the power to make laws on a range of issues known as devolved matters. The UK Parliament retains the power to make laws for Scotland on reserved matters.

UK Government

Comprising the Prime Minister, Cabinet and junior ministers, the UK Government has executive power and delivers national policies through introducing legislation, managing public services and overseeing taxation at the UK level.

It relies on parliamentary approval for laws and spending, and is accountable to MPs and Lords. Its authority is limited in areas that have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament/Senedd Cymru and Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government

Watch the following video describing the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government, and the relationship between the two bodies:

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AUDIO DESCRIPTION:

News stories often use 'Holyrood' as a shorthand for the Scottish Parliament or the Scottish Government. However, the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are separate organisations, based in separate buildings. In an election, the people elected to represent the regions and constituences become the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). MSPs elect one MSP as First Minister to lead the Scottish Government. The First Minister then appoints certain MSPs as Ministers. Together they form the Scottish Government. Scottish Government Ministers hold two separate positions: one as an MSP and one as a member of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government runs the country by proposing laws and implementing policy on devolved matters. It also proposes the Scottish budget. The Scottish Parliament makes laws for Scotland on devolved matters and holds the Scottish Government to account. MSPs question the First Minister and the Scottish Government on their actions. Both the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government work for you.

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The Scottish Parliament is the law-making body in Scotland for devolved matters. It comprises 129 Members (MSPs) directly elected by the people of Scotland. The powers and duties of the Scottish Parliament are set out in legislation passed by the UK Parliament.

The Scottish Parliament is responsible for making laws and holding ministers to account. The Scottish Government, led by the First Minister, runs the country by developing policy and implementing legislation in areas that are devolved to Scotland.

Local government is a devolved issue and therefore falls within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament..

Local government’s position in Scotland and the UK

Local government in Scotland operates in a ‘multi-level governance’ environment. As covered previously in the section ‘What do councils do?’, councils in Scotland are public bodies created by UK legislation, whose functions and powers are conferred by Acts of the UK and Scottish Parliaments.

As covered in ‘An overview of local government finance’, councils are also in a dependent financial position. The decision taken each year by the Scottish Parliament on the Local Government Finance Settlement has a substantial and direct impact on councils’ overall budgets, influencing the level of services that they are able to deliver. While the Scottish Parliament has devolved tax‑raising powers, the size of its overall budget – and, consequently, the funding available to local government – is itself affected by spending decisions taken by the UK Parliament. As a result, councils’ financial position is shaped by decisions made at both devolved and reserved levels of government.

While councils depend on decisions taken by the Scottish and UK Parliaments, the dependency can be reciprocal. Both Parliaments rely on councils to deliver many statutory functions and public services that are essential to achieving national policy objectives. Where local and national priorities align, councils play an important role in shaping national policy objectives into effective local delivery,

There is regular, ongoing dialogue between the respective spheres of government across a whole range of policy issues, and councillors can be involved in discussions with central governments about the local implications of national policies.

The differences between councils – in terms of geography, population and number of councillors – impacts how they carry out their roles and responsibilities. A councillor in East Renfrewshire may experience the role quite differently from a councillor in nearby Glasgow.

Councillors working for the same council can also have different experiences. For example, the experience of a senior councillor who is part of the political administration is likely to be quite different to that of a non-administration councillor with no senior position.

For Island councils that operate without political administrations, councillors are still appointed to senior positions (Leader of the Council, Provost, Convener/Chair), which shapes their workload and level of public scrutiny.

Appointments to outside bodies and partnership organisations will also result in varying responsibilities, time commitments and level of public scrutiny.

This course is designed to help you prepare for elected office by building your understanding of local government in Scotland and the roles and responsibilities of a councillor. You will also need to undertake your own research into the council you wish to stand for election to and reflect on how different roles may influence the expectations placed upon you.

Becoming a councillor is a significant and rewarding commitment. The position would place you at the heart of local democracy, shaping services and helping improve outcomes for the people you represent.

It is not without its challenges. Legally and constitutionally, the councillors who are elected are ‘the council’. The powers and duties collectively lie with all the councillors. This requires councillors to govern the organisation and make difficult choices about where finite resources should be spent and how much funding needs to be raised locally to deliver services.

Community leadership

A key role of a councillor is to be a community leader.

If elected, this will require you to be visible, accessible and responsive to the concerns of the electorate. This includes what is typically known as casework: helping to make things right if they don’t get the service and support they should. It can also involve helping individuals or groups to navigate public services and signposting people to where they can get support with their issue.

Being an effective community leader also means championing local voices and ensuring their perspectives are taken into account in council decisions. Councillors also need to communicate council policies back to communities and explain why decisions have been taken. Increasingly, councillors are expected not only to represent communities and take decisions on their behalf, but also to encourage and support wider public participation in local democratic decision-making.

Decision‑making

Councillors take key decisions, such as setting the council’s budget and agreeing policy proposals that determine how the council’s resources are used. This will primarily happen through participation in full council and committee meetings, although there will be a significant amount of time needed outside formal meetings to attend briefings and read papers on the issues that will be put before you.

You should check whether your council operates any online or hybrid meetings, where you can join the meeting remotely using videoconferencing technology. This won’t necessarily be an option for every meeting, but where applicable, it could allow you greater flexibility to attend meetings and take decisions.

Strategy and policy development

Councillors collectively set the strategic direction of the council. If elected, you will play a role in shaping strategy and policy through committees, party groups or informal discussions with officers and councillors. To be effective a councillor must:

• understand existing strategies and policies
• assess whether they are suitable for local communities
• contribute to the development of new approaches where needed.

Scrutiny

Scrutiny is a vital part of good governance by councillors and includes:

• monitoring the performance of services
• ensuring that public money is well spent
• checking that policy decisions deliver the intended results.

If elected, you may find yourself sitting on a formal audit or scrutiny committee; even if you do not, you will still have an ongoing responsibility to question, challenge and evaluate the council’s work.

Partnership working

Councils are expected to work with many partner organisations to deliver more effectively for local people and improve outcomes. Collaboration and joined-up working is key. Consider these examples:

• If the council decides to cut local youth clubs, it may bring a cost saving in the short term. However, the police and criminal justice system may experience increased pressure if the closures result in increased anti-social behaviour among youths.
• If the NHS board in your area reduces its capacity for mental health support for young people, this may result in schools experiencing an increase in complex behavioural and wellbeing issues in pupils who require specialist support.

In both examples, savings are made for one public body at the expense of another.

There can be all sorts of consequences from decisions taken by public bodies. Therefore, having effective partnership arrangements in place to support better collaboration between public service partners is crucial.

Councillors help shape and scrutinise partnership arrangements, ensuring that collaboration is effective, transparent and focused on the needs of citizens. As we have covered already, councillors will be appointed to sit on boards and committees of various partnerships such as a CPP or IA.

Regulatory duties

Some councillors will serve on regulatory or quasi‑judicial committees such as planning or licensing. These roles are bound by legislation and require impartiality, training and adherence to the Code of Conduct for Councillors.

If you are elected and find yourself having to make decisions on planning or licensing applications, you will have to undertake mandatory training to understand the specialist requirements of these regulatory functions.

Party political or group role

If you are elected through a party, you may have additional responsibilities, such as:

• participating in group meetings
• engaging with local party members
• contributing to party policy discussions.

If you are a member of a political party, you may wish to speak to a sitting councillor in that group to understand what will be expected of you.

All these roles and responsibilities mean that being a councillor is not only demanding but also deeply impactful. The roles can be complementary but may also occasionally conflict with each other at times.

As community leaders democratically elected by people in the ward, it is natural for councillors to scrutinise how a policy or decision would affect that ward when sitting on a policy development or decision-making committee. Done properly, a councillor may be able to influence changes to proposed policies or the implementation of the policies that are better for individuals and communities in that ward. This can be a strength of local democracy, where the community leadership, scrutiny, strategy and policy development and decision-making roles work together to bring a better outcome for people and communities.

However, councillors are expected to take a decision in the best interests of people across the whole council area and not just people in their ward. The reason for this is simple: if all councillors simply advocated and voted for what was best for their ward or a few vocal individuals, it could be very difficult to develop and agree on effective strategies and policies that use the council’s powers, duties and resources effectively – ultimately resulting in poorer services for everyone.

If elected, you will need to learn to navigate these tensions and find a balance between the various roles and responsibilities.

The minimum commitment a councillor needs to make is to attend one formal council meeting every six months (Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973).

In reality, if you choose to stand to make a difference to people’s lives, becoming a councillor will involve a much more significant time commitment. Findings from a review into changes of councillors’ pay and expenses (Scottish Government, 2024) found that:

• more than half of councillors spend at least 26 hours a week on formal council duties
• almost half of councillors spend more than 16 hours a week on informal duties
• some councillors do far fewer hours but others reported spending more than 80 hours a week on councillor duties – especially if they held a leadership role
• 42% say their councillor role is full-time
• more than half of councillors have an additional full-time or part-time job
• nearly 60% of councillors are frequently approached for help whilst not engaged in council duties.

A councillor’s duties include:

• reading meeting papers
• taking part in council and committee meetings
• holding surgeries and carrying out casework
• attending community council meetings
• attending local events.

There is flexibility as to when councillors can do their work, although this often means carrying out duties during evenings and weekends.

The Code of Conduct for Councillors (Scottish Government, 2021) outlines the conduct expected of councillors. You will need to comply with the ethical standards outlined in the Code should you be elected.

Areas covered by the Code include the following:

• General conduct: Councillors must behave respectfully towards everyone, including fellow councillors and employees of their local authority, when they are acting in the capacity of a councillor. The Code makes it clear that bullying and harassment are not acceptable.
• Gifts and hospitality: Councillors are permitted to accept gifts or hospitality only in very limited circumstances. This is to stop people or organisations from giving them gifts or offering hospitality to try to influence the decisions they make.
• Confidentiality: Councillors are often told things in confidence or given information that is not to be made public at that time. They must keep such information confidential, even if they think it should be made public.
• Registration of interests: Councillors must declare and register relevant financial and non-financial interests to ensure openness and transparency, and to prevent conflicts of interest.
• Declaration of interests: Councillors may have connections to matters being discussed by their council through their relationships with other people and organisations. Any conflicts of interest should be declared publicly. Councillors must not take part in discussing or deciding on a matter where an interest they have could be seen to influence them.
• Lobbying: Councillors might be lobbied by people with a particular interest; there are rules about how councillors should deal with anyone who attempts this.
• Quasi-judicial and regulatory decision-making: An outline of what councillors can and cannot do when making decisions on quasi-judicial and regulatory matters, such as planning and licensing applications.

If elected, you will receive advice and training on how to comply with the Code of Conduct for Councillors. It will be important that you quickly become familiar with your obligations.

Civility in public life

COSLA has spoken out on the rising abuse, intimidation and misinformation that councillors face, often amplified on social media, that are undermining local democracy. Robust debate is vital, but when discourse becomes threatening or toxic, it damages democracy and deters capable people from serving their communities (COSLA, 2025).

The Jo Cox Foundation urges candidates to commit to a civility pledge, which means:

• using a civil tone
• acting with integrity and compassion
• treating others respectfully.

This helps create a healthier political environment where diverse voices feel safe to participate.

If you choose to stand for election, we would encourage you to take the pledge. Details about the civility pledge can be found on The Jo Cox Foundation’s website (n.d.).

If you are thinking about standing for election as a councillor, it’s important to understand how you will work alongside council officers. Both play essential roles but contribute in different ways, as shown in the following table.

The two roles are distinct, but they overlap and depend heavily on one another if the council is to deliver effectively for communities. Effective councillor–officer working relationships rely on respect for each other’s authority. This relationship is often described as ‘strategic versus operational’ or ‘steering versus rowing’: councillors set the political direction (strategic/steering) while officers handle delivering it (operational/rowing).

In practice, the boundary isn’t as clear as that. For example:

• When undertaking casework, a councillor can find out detailed operational knowledge of how a service works. This could lead to that councillor considering how changes to council strategies, policies or budget could lead to a better outcome.
• If a member of the public hasn’t received the service they are entitled to, a councillor can ask officers why this is and what can be done about it.

The role of council officers is also more complex than implementing policy that councillors have developed and agreed. Officers contribute their detailed professional knowledge to policy development and budget decisions by advising on what is realistic, legal and deliverable. Officers therefore need to understand the politics of the council and be aware of what policies councillors are likely to support or oppose.

So the idea that councillors ‘steer’ and officers ‘row’ doesn’t convey the complexities of the relationship. If you choose to stand and are elected, it may take you some time to understand the distinctive but complementary roles of a councillor and officer.

Have a go at the following activity to learn what actions are appropriate for a councillor to take when working with officers.

Activity: What can a councillor do?

Timing: Allow about 5 minutes

Select the answer for

Question 1a

here

Read the following statements about what a councillor can do. Are they true or false?

1. You can seek information from a council officer on behalf of a member of the public.

True

False

 

a. 

True

b. 

False

The correct answer is a.

Answer

This is true, although a council officer may not be able to share certain information, such as legal advice.

Select the answer for

Question 1b

here

2. You can advise a council officer of your views on an issue.

True

False

 

a. 

True

b. 

False

The correct answer is a.

Answer

This is true, as long as it is done respectfully.

Select the answer for

Question 1c

here

3. You can insist that a council policy is ignored to benefit an individual service-user.

True

False

 

a. 

True

b. 

False

The correct answer is b.

Answer

This is false. It is a breach of the Code of Conduct for Councillors to instruct an officer to do this.

Select the answer for

Question 1d

here

4. When you are acting as a Chair/Convener of a committee, you can demand that the contents of a report or its recommendations are changed when you are being consulted on it.

True

False

 

a. 

True

b. 

False

The correct answer is b.

Answer

This is false. A report is the responsibility of the officer who has prepared it.

Select the answer for

Question 1e

here

5. You can raise concerns you have about the performance of a council service.

True

False

 

a. 

True

b. 

False

The correct answer is a.

Answer

This is true. You are entitled to raise concerns about the performance of a service and ask what can be done to make improvements. You should do so respectfully and not publicly criticise individual officers who have no right to reply.

Select the answer for

Question 1f

here

6. You can insist on being given access to internal human resources information about a council employee.

True

False

 

a. 

True

b. 

False

The correct answer is b.

Answer

This is false. While councillors have a right to access plenty of information held by the council, there are certain restrictions.

We hope that this course has been helpful with your understanding of:

• what councils in Scotland do, including their powers and the broad financial context that they operate in
• the relationship between local government, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament
• the broad roles and responsibilities of a councillor, including time commitments, expectations on ethical standards and working with council officers.

Do not be overawed at this point if you are thinking of standing for election: should you be elected, you will receive support. While this course should have helped you prepare for elected office, you will need to undertake a full and comprehensive induction provided by your council should you be elected.

If you decide to stand, you should speak to your council’s elections team no later than the date of your nomination to find out when induction events will be held and what you are expected to attend. Even then, many councillors indicate that it takes them at least six months to a year to understand their responsibilities, and longer still to feel fully confident in carrying them out.

Additional support

Finally, if you haven’t already done so, please visit the Improvement Service website for local council candidates and the Electoral Commission’s webpages for candidates for local government elections in Scotland (n.d.).

These resources provide important practical information that you will need to know about who can stand for election, what councillors get paid, whether you get time off work to attend council meetings, how to put yourself forward for nomination and much more.

Quiz

We have included a short, optional quiz for you to complete to check your understanding of the key messages in this course. This quiz can be completed as many times as you wish and there is no pass or fail mark.

Feedback will be given on any incorrect answers to help your learning.

Once you’ve completed the course and the quiz, try the following activity.

Audit Scotland (2025) ‘Local Government Budgets 2025/26’, briefing, May [online]. Available at https://audit.scot/uploads/2025-05/briefing_250522_council_budgets.pdf (accessed 4 March 2026).

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) (2025) ‘Raising the standard: a call for civility in public life’, News, 28 May [online]. Available at https://www.cosla.gov.uk/news/2025/may/raising-the-standard-a-call-for-civility-in-public-life (accessed 5 March 2026).

Dundee City Council (n.d.) ‘Strategic overview’, Council Plan 2022–2027 [online]. Available at https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/council-plan-2022-2027/strategic-overview (accessed 20 April 2026).

Electoral Commission (n.d.) ‘Council elections in Scotland: guidance and resources that you need if you are a candidate or agent at council elections in Scotland’ [online]. Available at https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-guidance/candidate-or-agent/council-elections-scotland (accessed 5 March 2026).

Falkirk Council (n.d.) ‘Explaining our budget and finances for 2025–2026’ [online]. Available at https://www.falkirk.gov.uk/budgets-spending-and-performance/explaining-our-budget (accessed 4 March 2026).

The Highland Council (2026) ‘Geography’, 16 January [online]. Available at https://www.highland.gov.uk/planning-area/highland-profile-key-facts-figures (accessed 20 April 2026).

Improvement Service (n.d.) ‘Local Government Benchmarking Framework’ [online]. Available at https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/products-and-services/data-intelligence-and-benchmarking/local-government-benchmarking-framework (accessed 25 March 2026).

Improvement Service (2018) ‘What is a community council?’, YouTube, 16 October [online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aP-sM6x1SU (accessed 4 March 2026).

The Jo Cox Foundation (n.d.) ‘Civility Pledge’ [online]. Available at https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/our-work/respectful-politics/civility-pledge/ (accessed 5 March 2026).

Keep, M. (2026) ‘The Barnett Formula and Fiscal Devolution’, research briefing, House of Commons Library, 22 January [online]. Available at https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7386/ (accessed 25 March 2026).

Local Councillor [online]. Available at https://www.localcouncillor.scot/ (accessed 5 March 2026).

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) (n.d.) ‘Explore the data’ [online]. Available at https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/benchmarking/explore-the-data (accessed 25 March 2026).

Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland (2014) ‘Fifth Reviews of Electoral Arrangements: Guidance Booklet’, pp. 13–14 [online] Available at https://www.boundaries.scot/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guidance_Booklet_1758892799.pdf (accessed 4 March 2026).

Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 [online]. Available at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2003/1/contents (accessed 4 March 2026).

Local Government Finance Act 1992 [online]. Available at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/14 (accessed 4 March 2026).

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973: ‘Resignation and Vacation of Office’ [online]. Available at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/65/part/III/crossheading/resignation-and-vacation-of-office (accessed 4 March 2026).

National Records of Scotland (2025) ‘Mid-2024 population estimates’, 14 August [online]. Available at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/mid-2024-population-estimates/ (accessed 4 March 2026).

Scottish Government (2021) ‘Code of Conduct for Councillors’, December [online]. Available at https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/regulation-directive-order/2021/12/code-conduct-councillors-2/documents/code-conduct-councillors/code-conduct-councillors/govscot%3Adocument/code-conduct-councillors.pdf (accessed 4 March 2026).

Scottish Government (2024) ‘Councillors’ remuneration and expenses: recommendations’, 16 February [online]. Available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/recommendations-councillors-remuneration-expenses/pages/16/ (accessed 4 March 2026).

Scottish Government (2025) ‘Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2023–24’, 18 February [online]. Available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-statistics-2023-24/documents/ (accessed 4 March 2026).

Scottish Government (2026) ‘2. Revenue expenditure and income’, in Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2024–25, 5 February [online]. Available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-statistics-2024-25/pages/2--revenue-expenditure-and-income/ (accessed 4 March 2026).

Scottish Government (n.d. 1) ‘Local government’ [online]. Available at https://www.gov.scot/policies/local-government/local-government-revenue/ (accessed 4 March 2026).

Scottish Government (n.d. 2) ‘Tourism and events: Policy actions 3 of 3 – Local visitor levy’ [online]. Available at https://www.gov.scot/policies/tourism-and-events/tourism-tax-discussion/ (accessed 4 March 2026).

The Scottish Parliament (2018) ‘There shall be a Scottish Parliament – Scottish Government’, YouTube, 9 November [online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdSO0Ldx5R0 (accessed 4 March 2026).

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:

Homepage

Course image: Virtual-Pano/Wikimedia Commons; this file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

Video: provided by Improvement Service

Introduction

Kelpies: Ben Carless/Unsplash

Section 1

Map: adapted by Improvement Service; Crown Copyright and database right (2026) and Scottish local authority from the Spatial Hub

Orkney Islands Council sign: Improvement Service

Section 2

Classroom: JackF/Getty

Bins: Nareeta Martin/Unsplash

Snow plow: Mark Thomas/Pexels

Montage: police, David Cameron/Govan Police Office under a CC BY SA licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en); NHS, Billy McCrorie/Wikimedia Commons under a CC BY-SA 2.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en); fire, Billy McCrorie/Wikimedia Commons under a CC BY-SA 2.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Holding hands: National Cancer Institute/Unsplash

Section 3

Budget: Vitalii Petrushenko/Dreamstime

Social care: Age Cymru/Unsplash

Long-term trends: produced by The Open University from data by Improvement Service (https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/benchmarking/explore-the-data)

Section 4

Montage: Scottish Parliament building, Nigel Stripe/Getty Images; Westminster Parliament, krychkovskyi/123RF

UK Government building: Ferdi2005/Wikimedia Commons; this file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en CC BY-SA 4.0)

Scottish Government building: Benjamin Brock/Wikimedia Commons under a CC BY-SA 3.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Section 5

Mural: Giorgio Trovato/Unsplash

Recycling bag: ready made/Pexels

Code of conduct: made by the Standards Commission using Canva

Marine operations centre: Gavin Kelman/Unsplash

True or false: Andrii Zastrozhnov/Dreamstime

Section 6

Congratulations: Torsten Asmus/Getty

Quiz time: kotoffei/Getty

Section 7

V&A: Steve Gilruth/Unsplash

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. If any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.