The Community Empowerment Act and Localism under Devolution in Scotland: the perspective of multiple stakeholders in a council ward

Elliott, Ian, Fejszes, Violetta and Tàrrega, Mariola (2019) The Community Empowerment Act and Localism under Devolution in Scotland: the perspective of multiple stakeholders in a council ward. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 32 (3). pp. 302-319. ISSN 0951-3558

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Abstract

Purpose – In Scotland the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act represents a significant development towards greater localism in the way public services are designed and delivered in Scotland. This also represents a different approach to that adopted in the rest of the UK. This article is the first in-depth case study of its kind to explore stakeholder perceptions of localism within a council ward.

Design/methodology/approach - This article is based on an in-depth exploratory case study of a single council ward in East Scotland. The fieldwork involved 61 in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders including local councillors, public service managers and residents.

Findings - The findings highlight that, whilst the discourse of community empowerment represents policy divergence, there remain some significant structural and social barriers to meaningful community empowerment in practice. Finally, it is argued that there are three key factors to consider when developing community empowerment: a shared strategy, shared resources and shared accountability.

Originality/value – The research draws on extensive data from an in-depth case study to explore the realities of community empowerment within a single local authority ward. In doing so it provides a rich contextual narrative of how the rhetoric of community empowerment is perceived within a council ward setting.

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