Consultation On The Proposed Community Empowerment - Scottish ...

Theme 8: Named Officer
This theme covers question 13 in the main consultation questionnaire:
Should public sector authorities have a named accountable officer, responsible
for community participation and acting as a primary point of contact for
communities?
3.113 The vast majority of respondents answered this question, and of those that did
just over half expressed agreement. Support was most prevalent among
community councils and their local networks, and RSLs and their representative
bodies. Support was lowest among private sector organisations and their
representative bodies, of whom only one agreed with the proposal. Local
authorities and their representative bodies also broadly disagreed, with over
three-fifths of respondents rejecting the proposal.
3.114 The most commonly expressed reason for supporting the proposal was that a
primary point of contact would simplify and improve communication with public
sector authorities.
“A named accountable officer will give prominence to
community participation and make it easier for individuals or
community organisations to contact the public body on issues
relating to community participation.”
(Link Group)
3.115 A number of respondents believed that the proposal would enhance
accountability by clearly fixing it to one officer, with some asserting that at
present, it can be difficult to identify who is responsible for community
participation. In general, they felt that the appointed officer should sit at the
level of director or chief executive. They argued that this level of seniority was
required in order for the post to effectively promote positive cultural change
within public authorities.
3.116 The most common criticism of the proposal was that by appointing a single
officer, others would neglect their community participation duties. A significant
number of respondents highlighted this potential problem, including some of
those who had expressed agreement with the proposal.
“All officials, not simply the named officer, must see it as a
core part of their remit to interact, engage and support the
local community. Existence of a named accountable official
must not become an excuse for other officials to shut out the
local community.”
(Oxfam Scotland)
3.117 Some of those who disagreed felt that rather than establishing a new post, the
chief executives of public authorities should instead take on this responsibility.
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