Comhairle to consider introduction of paid family leave for councillors

Following the Scottish government’s recent amendment to existing local govenrment legislation, local authorities in Scotland now have increased flexibility to grant paid family leave to local councillors taking time away from their duties for maternity, paternity, shared and adoption leave ‘ensuring Councillors can continue to receive payment at an appropriate level’.

Scottish local authority organisation, COSLA, had identified the absence of formal family leave as ‘a key barrier’ preventing individuals from standing or re-standing for elected office, and in a statement said that it hoped the move “will now encourage a wider range of people to stand for office, breaking down barriers for many”.

The changes remain voluntary for local authorities but COSLA has confirmed that more than a third of councils in Scotland have now adopted or are considering the adopting the measures.

COSLA President, Councillor Alison Evison, said: “I am delighted that regulations now allow Councils the flexibility to appropriately pay Councillors on family leave.

“The role of being a Councillor and having the privilege of representing your community should be open to all.

“The previous limits of legislation have meant that those requiring maternity, paternity, adoption or any other leave whilst in office may have been financially disadvantaged.

“This has been a barrier preventing some people from standing for election, and may have been influential in the decisions of others to step down.

“It has been one factor making our councils less representative of our communities than they could be.

“We look forward to seeing more Councils adopt this guidance and hope that this enables more individuals to consider standing for or staying in Local Government, which we would strongly encourage them to do.”

At local government elections in 2017, for the first time in its history, no women were elected to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and just seven stood in the elections in a bid to become councillors.

The authority subsequently adopted measures to enable women to be appointed to its Human Resources Panels and for the appointment of women representatives to each of the Comhairle’s member/officer working groups, and in 2019 the authority held seminars in the islands with the ‘Parliament Project’, aimed at encouraging women to enter politics.