Committee
Local Government Committee, 19 Jun 2001
19 Jun 2001 · S1 · Local Government Committee
Item of business
Renewing Local Democracy Working Group
Paolo Vestri:
Watch on SPTV
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 substantially increased our bill to the Scottish Executive. This time we did not ask any detailed questions about the type of ward that councillors represented, but we asked questions of that sort in the 1996 survey—for example, about the type of issues that came up in councillors' wards. We found that the issue that was raised most frequently was housing.I know from experience as a councillor that housing is the key issue. I represented a ward in central Edinburgh that had no council housing. An average of one person a fortnight came to my surgeries, although I held surgeries religiously every Friday night and every second Saturday. A councillor who represented a ward in Wester Hailes had an average of about 20 people a week coming to his surgeries and a substantially higher work load in phone calls and letters. Most of his work was related to council housing. I am sure that the situation is the same throughout Scotland.The type of ward that councillors represent has a major impact on their constituency work load, but we did not gather information on that in this survey. Perhaps the matter can be investigated at council level. If councils were to carry out their own surveys of work load—not just of hours worked, but of what councillors spend their time on—that would provide very useful information. It would enable them to identify the kind of support that individual councillors need to help them to do their work more effectively. A councillor who has a heavy constituency work load might need more support than one who has a relatively light constituency work load.
In the same item of business
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...