THIS week's Councillor Column comes from Liberal Democrat Cllr Graham Hardie, who represents Helensburgh Central.
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YOU’LL often see mention in TV, radio and online news reports in Scotland of COSLA. But what exactly is COSLA?
Well, it’s the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities – the voice of local government in Scotland. It provides political leadership on national issues, and works with councils to improve local services and strengthen local democracy.
Every day of the year, millions of people rely on the services that local government in Scotland delivers. Together, councils spend more than £19 billion a year on local services, and employ over 240,000 people – almost 10 per cent of all jobs in Scotland.
READ MORE: Your letters to the Helensburgh Advertiser: October 15, 2020
From funding to housing, roads to early years, and social care to dealing with pandemics such as Covid-19 as we are experiencing now, COSLA’s job is to champion councils’ vital work and secure the resources and powers they need.
It champions the role of local government in the governance of Scotland, and lobbies for stronger local democracy and community empowerment; lead reforms that improve public services and save money effectively; negotiate fair and affordable pay and workforce conditions on behalf of all councils and supports councils to work together, and deliver shared services that increase their capacity.
It is also responsible for providing national services to councils and their partners through the myjobscotland recruitment portal, Trading Standards Scotland and the Business Gateway National Unit.
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Within COSLA special interest groups look at specific issues and policies. A network of special interest groups take forward specific policy and work and focus on key issues in detail.
The COSLA teams cover local government finance; children and young people; communities; migration, population and diversity; environment and economy, and health and social care.
COSLA’ s European and international work aims to ensure the interests and rights of Scottish local government are safeguarded in the international arena, as well as to promote Scotland and Scottish local government as a positive global citizen.
COSLA was established in 1975, but standing up for Scotland’s local priorities goes back 800 years. It evolved from the Convention of Royal Burghs – once the oldest representative body in Europe.
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