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I totally take on board the idea that we need a nuanced approach. Some of it is to do with the fact that we have many islands, a lot of coastline, a lot of big rural areas, and a high concentration pattern in the central belt. A nuanced approach is definitely needed. I get a sense that the situation is different from that in other parts of the UK, where there are not so many islands, for a start. We have a very different set of issues right off the bat.

I have one more question, which is about housing. The report expresses significant concern about the record number of children who are trapped in temporary accommodation, failing homelessness services, and a chronic shortage of social housing across the country. How can local authorities respond to those immense challenges?

We now move to item 3, which is an evidence-taking session with Reform Scotland on its devolving Scotland initiative. The intention is that the session will allow the committee to further explore issues relating to the on-going review of local governance and build on the success of our recent joint event with Scotland’s Futures Forum on the future relationship between local and central government in Scotland. We are joined for this item by Alison Payne, the research director at Reform Scotland. I welcome Alison to the committee.

I will start with a few questions, and then I will bring in colleagues. You once said:

“Scotland is unusual internationally in the weakness of its local authorities.”

I am interested in hearing why you said that and about how Scotland’s local democracy compares with that in other parts of the United Kingdom and Europe.

That is a really useful insight. We have been doing quite a bit of work on understanding the barriers to local elected office. I am interested to hear Reform’s perspective on what more can be done to help Scotland’s councils be more representative of their diverse communities and what role could—what needs to be done to improve council remuneration. I absolutely agree that it needs to be improved; I am not sure why I stumbled on that question.

Before I bring in Miles Briggs to add another layer of complexity with his questions, I want to pick up on a few things. One thing that struck me while you were talking—you mentioned this at the beginning, and it was also mentioned in the committee’s previous evidence session—was the fact that, in the EU, local municipalities can raise 40 to 50 per cent of their revenue at a local level. You painted a picture of a Scotland with a lot of diversity. Is there that level of nuance in other countries, such as France? I realise that I have quite a fixed picture of that situation, whether that is of 250 people with a mayor or whatever. Is it quite diverse, depending on the geography and local issues?

You are bringing in an element of belonging, in a way.

I was interested to hear from Jackie Weaver, when she came to our session a few weeks ago, that community councils in England are incorporated and they have revenue-raising powers, which ours do not. That takes me back to the conversation about remuneration. How do we engage more people? What would be the incentive for people to come to a community council?

It seems to me that having some power to do something could attract thoughtful people who want to participate in shaping the place to which they belong and with which they identify. The same remuneration piece applies at the council level. We would attract people who have the right skill sets. We already attract such people, but they take a massive cut and struggle financially. As you said, they tend to do one term and then have to move on. That is a shame, because the tremendous amount of experience that they have gained over the five-year period goes out the door again.

Yes, something definitely needs to be done. The Scottish local authority remuneration committee is busy reviewing the remuneration piece too, so hopefully we will see some progress on that. As you said, someone who is responsible for the city of Edinburgh, for example, is considered to be part-time and is paid as such. That is concerning.

So there could be gradual reform rather than everything being ripped up.

The Scottish Land Commission recently published a report, which you may have seen, about forms of tax on land. It did not necessarily suggest a land value tax, but it had different kinds of ideas on tax on land.

One of the things that was flagged up to me was the fact that, in Fife, Amazon has its regional delivery centre, where its stuff gets sent out not only around Scotland but to the north of England. Amazon pays, I think, £1 million in non-domestic rates, and the neighbouring Tesco pays £2 million. Amazon generates tremendous income but is not really paying for it. I am interested in exploring those things, and, as a committee, we will look at that issue and how to generate more income for local authorities. Have you looked at that?