Jackie Weaver, you have authority

Interesting session at the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee exploring the contribution of community councils over the 50 years of their existence. Particularly interesting was the appearance of Jackie Weaver of Handforth Parish Council fame. As she pointed out, the crucial difference between our two systems is that Parish and Town Councils have the power to raise their own income by setting local taxes as well as having borrowing powers. The degree of local transparency and accountability for locally raised finance ensures that even small amounts of money are well spent and have high impact.