Support for communities and community organisations who face more barriers than others to engage with democracy and take advantage of opportunities for empowerment is key.

We would like to see actions aimed at increasing capacity building and support for disadvantaged and marginalised communities so that they are in a position to benefit from any new legislation.

There should be a focus on increasing the influence of communities over services and decisions through any potential new legislation.

Innovation is closely related to influence and intervention, with more of an emphasis on communities managing and delivering services and amenities. For this to happen, the following changes need to be made

The issue of inclusion is key to community involvement in local decision making, and there are particular measures which should be incorporated into any Bill around local democracy in order to ensure inclusion and equality are achieved.