In a time of considerable pressure on local authority finances, how do we ensure that community empowerment is truly empowering, and not seen as an easy option to cut services, asks Sarah Latto

It’s that time of year again when many voluntary and community organisations nervously wait for decisions about their funding.

Local authority finances are in a precarious state, with a Cosla spokesperson recently stating that: "budget cuts, inflation, higher costs such as the increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions, and the previous freezes on council tax mean councils have unfortunately had to make difficult decisions to avoid reducing or cutting essential services".

Many councils are attempting to mitigate these challenges by introducing inflation-busting increases to council tax – councillors in Orkney have voted in favour of a 15% hike, for example.

We know from experience that this type of scenario can be particularly challenging for local third sector organisations that rely on local authority funding. In recent years we have seen news stories about direct cuts to the third sector from local authorities trying to balance the books. While depressing, this is not new news.

However, there is another consequence of the difficult decisions being made by local authorities that is perhaps not so well publicised. In fact, it is often hailed by local authorities and the Scottish Government as a wholly positive development. I’m talking about the transfer of assets or services into the hands of communities under the banner of 'community empowerment’.

At this point I’d like to stress that I am absolutely not against community empowerment – quite the opposite in fact. It is vital that communities have a voice in local decision-making, and that they have mechanisms for assuming a role in the management or delivery of local services where this is deemed, by all parties, to be the best approach. There are lots of inspiring examples of groups within communities utilising the powers detailed in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to great effect.

My concern is that community empowerment is sometimes being used as a tool by local authorities to cut vital local services. In recent months we have seen several news stories about local authorities proposing the closure of local libraries, with some reports that ‘community-led’ options were being explored instead. At a members business debate in parliament on 5 February looking at local library closures, Mark Ruskell MSP stated that: "rural communities in Perthshire are already being asked to take over other services from which the council has retreated, and volunteers can only do so much to backfill cuts."

Thankfully, many of the councils that were proposing library closures have decided not to move forward with these plans. However, this points to a wider issue around public sector budget cuts and community empowerment activity.

Through the Volunteering Action Plan Policy Champions Network, we have heard from volunteers in community groups who have felt pressured to take on services previously delivered by the local authority, including management of public toilets and maintenance of bus shelters. One volunteer consequently referred to community asset transfer as "community liability transfer" and another stated that volunteers in his community were "at the end of their tether".

Let’s be clear – if the decision to assume responsibility for a library, or any other service, is not led by the community, it is not community led. It also does not align with the Volunteer Charter, which states that: "volunteers should not carry out duties formerly carried out by paid workers, nor should they be used to disguise the effects of non-filled vacancies or cuts in services."

Community empowerment activity is driven by people volunteering their time, through community groups, to improve their local community.

Volunteer Scotland’s recently published cross-sectional analysis of the 2022 Scottish Household Survey results found that volunteer participation is considerably higher in areas where people feel they "can influence decisions affecting their local area", and where "local people take action to help improve the neighbourhood".

However, the capacity of these community volunteers is finite and in some instances is already reaching its limit.

Adult volunteer participation in Scotland has seen considerable decline in recent years, from 26% in 2019 to 18% in 2023. We have also seen a considerable increase in the proportion of Scotland’s adult volunteers giving their time to local community or neighbourhood organisations, from 22% in 2019 to 28% in 2023.

While it is unclear exactly what has caused this, there is a possibility that it is partly driven by a decline in public services in local communities. Therefore, any transfer of power to communities that is initiated through service cuts or closures could further diminish the capacity of volunteers to pursue activity on issues that matter most to them. In other words, it undermines true community empowerment.

To ensure that Scottish communities are great places to live, work and volunteer, it is important that ‘community-led’ activity is actually led by communities. Otherwise, it risks being more exploitation than empowerment, and the patience of some community volunteers appears to be wearing a bit thin.

If you wish to share your experience on this topic, or join the conversation on volunteering in policy more broadly, contact me on sarah.latto@volunteerscotland.org.uk or join the Policy Champions Network.

Sarah Latto is senior policy officer at Volunteer Scotland.