6 Summary
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.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, learn and listen. There is a huge amount of information to pick up at first, but nobody expects you to be an expert in local government after a few weeks or months.
I hated it for the first four months as I felt I would never know everything – but once I realised that everyone has their area of specific focus or knowledge, and that you can lean on and learn from others, I soon realised I loved it. It is a role like no other and one that is always varied and interesting, and allows you to contribute to your community.
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.
I thought I would need a break after a tiring campaign and hadn’t realised there would be a comprehensive induction provided by the council. I ended up missing important induction events, and it took me a lot longer to get up to speed with what I was there to do.
Additional support
Finally, if you haven’t already done so, please visit the Improvement Service website for local council candidates [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] 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.
5.5 Working with council officers
