Democracy Matters

They need to be people from the communities they are representing. Only those living in those communities truly understand their needs. Communities that sit next door to each other can be completely different. We need a cross section of the community and not an individual or a few people who have an agenda. There should be a shorter time limit on how long anyone is allowed to remain in a post where they represent the community.

More representatives from younger demographic groups. They are the future, and they are not asked what they need or listened to when they offer opinions or suggestions. We need to engage them. In Polbeth specifically, key organisations like the Hub, the church, schools and even the local pub should be involved in representing the community.

Some form of citizen advisory committee. Community based sub committees of formal/official representative bodies.

To be the person taking back information from local communities to local authorities and government organisations. They need to take this verbatim otherwise there is no representation.

People need to see the worth of the position, be heard, be really able to make a difference. If people are powerless they will not get involved in becoming change makers. More regular meetings with tangible outcomes.

There needs to be some form of appraisal system. In normal jobs people are appraised and received feedback. There seems to be no mechanism for this at a council level or government level. These people work for us so why are we not allowed to give honest feedback and critique. If there is no feedback how do these people who represent us grow and develop in their roles. Communities need to be able to let them know how they are doing and where improvements can be made no matter how big or small.

These are essential!

Flexibility in how they meet representatives - option to meet virtually or in person on a more regular basis. Removing the red tape - need to email, wait on response from a clerical worker to even get an appointment or an email back from representatives. Using youth and community outreach approaches. Community Councils that are a real representation of the people living in our community. Community needs opportunities to give feedback through anonymous options.

Education - what do councils and council officers actually do? What does the government do? How do things work? What powers do our representatives have? What responsibilities do they have? People get angry because they are frustrated. The frustration comes from not understanding how things work and expecting things to happen that are outwith the control of representatives.

If people understand what goes on and how things work then more powers could be handed to local people working in communities. This would allow more action to be taken local by those who understand them. There would be less burden on the councils and other organisations.

There needs to be a power balance between representatives and communities. People can't get involved in this if they don't have any powers to make change.

From the facilitator - I am an experienced facilitator. I spent most of the session putting these questions into words that those taking part could understand. This highlights to me that you cannot properly engage this community because even the questions about how to engage them are beyond what they are able to understand.