Hansard

The Deputy Convener: Lab

Item 2 is our inquiry into aspects of the report of the renewing local democracy working group. Members will remember that we set out terms of reference in N...

Paolo Vestri (Scottish Local Government Information Unit):

I thank the committee for giving us the opportunity to discuss our research findings. Members have the report—I hope that you will have had a chance to read ...

The Deputy Convener: Lab

Thank you—that was a comprehensive account that filled in many of the details in relation to your written submission. I am sure that everybody found the grap...

Paolo Vestri:

We did not ask whether councillors were old or new councillors, but we asked when they had been elected. From our 1999 survey, and from evidence that we gath...

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): SNP

Your survey showed that those who classified themselves as full-time councillors spent longer on council business than those who did not classify themselves ...

Paolo Vestri:

The quick answer is yes; but the hard part is giving the figures. If you will give me a second, they will be in my notes somewhere, because we did carry out ...

Mr Paterson: SNP

Below table 1, your document says that"survey respondents who classified themselves as full-time councillors spent 44 hours per week on council business."Is ...

Paolo Vestri:

I will answer Gil Paterson's fair question directly: we did not ask that question in this survey or in previous surveys. Perhaps research on why people becom...

Mr Paterson: SNP

I am trying to find out whether people are being pushed into unemployment because they want to do a good job for the community.

Paolo Vestri:

I do not know. We did not ask about that. We have only hearsay to go on. The evidence that I have heard from some of the committee's members, from my being a...

Mr Paterson: SNP

All the graphs seem to show that full-time councillors work longer hours and have a wider variety of duties. Is there evidence that councillors who work full...

Paolo Vestri:

We cannot obtain that information from the survey because we did not ask councillors for their views on their work loads. The questions were basic: we asked ...

The Deputy Convener: Lab

I do not want to pursue Gil Paterson's point much further, but you said that you wanted to continue to investigate the issue in future.

Paolo Vestri:

Yes.

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): SNP

This is an excellent piece of research. I am astonished that councillors spend so little time in surgeries and in dealing with constituents. I recall spendin...

Paolo Vestri:

We did not ask that question in this survey, partly because the complex work that would be involved in collecting and analysing such information would have s...

Mr Gibson: SNP

In my experience, that extra support is not available—certainly not to councillors in opposition. I do not know whether it is available to councillors who ar...

Paolo Vestri:

In most authorities most wards are the same size in terms of population. The big difference is in the type of ward. That needs to be considered in more detai...

Mr Gibson: SNP

One would think that a single transferable vote system with larger wards would even out some of those disparities.How many of those who responded were in ful...

Paolo Vestri:

Of the councillors who responded to the survey, 23.4 per cent were in full-time employment and 25.3 per cent classified themselves as being full-time council...

Mr Gibson: SNP

Given that the proportion of adults who are in work is at least double that, do you believe that being a councillor limits people's chances of finding employ...

Paolo Vestri:

It should be addressed. From experience, I know that being a councillor has an effect on the kind of employment that one can get and on one's career prospect...

Mr Gibson: SNP

When I was in Glasgow City Council, I was amazed to find that Bill Aitken and I were the only councillors who worked in the private sector—the place was over...

Paolo Vestri:

After this survey and the survey that we conducted of all councillors after the 1999 election, we have good information on the employment details of councill...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con

In your reply to Sylvia Jackson, you said that one third of councillors were new. Was that figure only in the latest survey?

Paolo Vestri:

That is the figure for all councillors who were elected in 1999.

Mr Harding: Con

Throughout the whole of Scotland?

Paolo Vestri:

Yes.

Mr Harding: Con

Has any research been done on the number of standing councillors who lost their seats?

Paolo Vestri:

No, although we could have done that. The 33 per cent represents people who won seats from sitting councillors and people who stood in seats in which the inc...