Wednesday May 20th 2026
West Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
A new board to decide how to spend £20m in West Lothian will hear the voices of only two local councillors.
With seven councillors representing the communities benefiting from the fund a Conservative questioned why all of them did not have a place at the table for the the new Pride in Place Board.
Councillor Angela Doran-Timson said there should be greater council representation on the board which will determine how £20m will be spent in Whitburn, Blackburn and Fauldhouse.
“Local councillors know more about what is going on,” she told a meeting.
The funding comes from the Westminster government and will be spent in the communities over the next ten years at the rate of £2m per year.
A meeting of West Lothian Council this week voted for Labour councillors Craig Meek and George Paul to serve on the board after a debate triggered by Councillor Doran-Timson.
She pointed out that two wards have seven councillors representing the three communities. The Whitburn and Blackburn ward has four councillors, two SNP, one Labour and one Reform while the Fauldhouse ward has three – two Labour and one SNP.
Councillor Doran-Timson told the meeting: “What doesn’t sit well with me that one elected member is appointed we have four council in one ward and three in the other. Why is it that all councillors are not appointed.
The Conservative, one of four members in the Broxburn ward, said: “The seven members should be selected for the board. I would say that local councillors know more about what is going on in each ward.”
Greg Welsh, Depute Chief Executive, said the make-up the board was based on advice from civil servants and followed that of similar boards already in place. Half of the board members should be non-elected and there are places set aside for the two local MPs and two MSPs.
Councillor Andrew Miller, (SNP) said: “I know the wording is very careful, I’m assuming that it is the board that will make the final decision on who they want?”
In a report to the council Mr Welsh said that should the desire for board composition change the council would be notified. The board will have a minimum of eight members and: “at least one local member.”
Depute Provost, Conservative Peter Heggie pointed out that both MPs and MSPs have a lot of outside duties and wondered whether the meetings would always be quorate, that is have enough members present to take decisions.
The council’s Governance Manager, Lesley Montagu, said that it will be a matter for the board to approve its own governance arrangements.
Depute council leader, Labour’s Susan Manion said the terms by which the board was set up had been “quite restricted”. She added: “Following on from that the board will have significant powers. I would think perhaps representation and membership, as well as other issues may well change over time and experience.”
A volunteer chair of the board Whitburn lawyer Eric Lumsden, was appointed to the board last week.
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