Councillor remuneration - the amount of money Councillors receive for undertaking their duties as an elected official - has been a regular fixture in the news recently as Councils set their budgets and discuss the new conditions recommended by the independent Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee - known as SLARC.
COSLA has released a new factsheet explaining Councillor remuneration, the role Councils play in deciding on this, and the recommendations of the independent SLARC committee.
Reflecting on the important work undertaken by SLARC, COSLA President, Councillor Shona Morrison, said:
"I am clear that for a rich and vibrant democracy, everyone in Scotland should have the opportunity to run for public office if they so wish.
"This is why Leaders welcomed the SLARC recommendations, recognising the role of a modern councillor and attempting to address the key barriers faced by too many people that prevent them from running for elections. Local democracy is vital to ensuring the delivery of our key public services and we want to see fair and representative councils across Scotland. SLARC is an important step in the right direction.
"For a representative local democracy it's essential that we bring Councillors' conditions and remuneration in line with their role as it is now - not as it was almost 20 years ago in 2007, when these conditions were last updated.
"COSLA will continue our work to remove barriers to elected office to because it's right that our councils should properly reflect our communities.".
Further information