Governance
In Scotland, a community council is a statutory body of local residents who volunteer to act as a voice for their area, representing the community's views and concerns to the governing local authority and other public bodies. They are the most local tier of representation and a key part of local democracy, but are independent of the council. Community councils discuss local issues, such as planning and licensing, hold public meetings, and can undertake projects to benefit their community. They also advocate for and behalf of residents and support local residents to resolve issues.
Sleat Community Council is one of 16 in Skye and Raasay. Altogether there are 156 community councils across the whole of the Highland Council region, though not all are currently formed.
Scheme of Establishment
All community councils are formed by for a period of four years and members are elected (an election is not needed if fewer than the maximum number of members stand). In Highland the governance of community councils is through the Scheme of Establishment for Community Councils,is based on the model scheme published by the Scottish Government.
The scheme provides guidance covering a range of relevant topics:
- Guidance for the recording of meetings.
- Community Councils' FAQs
- Highland Council Community Council Complaints Guidance
In addition to the standard guidance in the Scheme of Establishment, Sleat Community Council has developed and adopted its own:
- Behaviour and Actions Policy for both community councillors and members of the public.
- Social and Digital Media Policy
Becoming a Community Councillor
Community councillors are all volunteers and a key requirement is that members are required to be on the electoral role and be resident in the Sleat Community Council boundary. Sleat's membership is determined by the numbers of the electoral role and currently for our area eight members are permitted with the addition, if required, of two youth members. Where ther are vacancies during the term of the council, existing members can co-opt new members.
If you would like to know anything further about the work of SCC or would like to consider being a member please get in touch with any of the existing members or email the secretary at info@sleatcommunitycouncil.org.uk. Full information on becoming a community councillor can found here.