Whilst the Committee did not support increasing the number of local authorities or councillors, it agreed there must be a cultural change in local government to delegate decision making to the most local level.
The Committee also recommends an independent cross-party commission is established with a view to reviewing local authority funding with a new financial system, being identified in time for the local government elections due to take place in 2017.
Committee Convener Kevin Stewart MSP said:
“In order for communities to be truly empowered they must have the confidence that decisions are taken at the level where their needs are best understood.
“For this to happen, many more functions of local government must be devolved downward and there needs to be a greater willingness in local government to do this.
"Finance is always a key factor and that is why we have suggested that after the referendum a cross-party commission should be established, with a view to a new system being identified before the next council elections in 2017."
Background
Over the last three years, the Committee has undertaken a programme of work examining how local government in Scotland can be made more effective. This has included looking at how communities are served and the tools available to local government to serve them. Previous reports by the Committee can be found here:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/29852.aspx
During the course of the inquiry, the Committee undertook a series of visits to find out how local government operated in other jurisdictions as well as island and remote communities.