Local Authorities Guide: West Lothian Council

The following is a Q&A with Labour Lawrence Fitzpatrick, leader of West Lothian Council.

The Public Sector Reform strategy is a key mission of the Scottish Government, what does that mean for you and your council?

I think everyone would agree with the broad ideals of the Public Sector Reform Strategy. It’s clear that positive action is required to improve public services for everyone, with early preventative action a key part of this.

However, the devil is always in the detail and it remains to be seen on whether this strategy will help deliver the kind of real and impactful change that will benefit West Lothian residents.

It’s still unclear if this strategy is right for West Lothian, and provides the kind of vision we need to make sure services are fit for future generations.

The Scottish Government has got so many large-scale policy decisions wrong. It needs to work with councils and show equal respect. 

Are there particular innovative or collaborative ways of working that you can point to in your own council as examples of how you can do more with less?

Child poverty has a huge negative impact on the lives of too many young people in West Lothian. 

We are always looking to find new and innovative ways to help our young people, which led to the council’s Anti-Poverty Service and the Improvement Service working together in partnership to tackle the issues.

By using a combination of publicly available and council held data take up of education benefits, we were able to develop an approach to identify where need was not being met.

This enabled resources to be targeted to areas in the most need, to alleviate poverty at a local level.

This impressive project provided valuable insights at a low-cost, ensuring support got to those who would benefit most.

The council and the Improvement Service were presented with an award at the LARIA (Local Area Research + Intelligence Association) Research Impact Awards for their innovative working.

AI is held up as a potential game changer in terms of public service delivery but on the ground, what contribution is digital technology making to your own approach?

There’s no doubt that AI is going to play an increasingly important role in our day-to-day lives and within the workplace. 

While technologies offer opportunities for efficiency and improvement for businesses, but also introduce risks related to data protection, bias and security. 

West Lothian Council has just adopted a new AI policy which aims to ensure all AI usage is ethical and compliant.

Any use of AI should improve efficiency while being safe and secure, with all information created by AI reviewed, checked and edited prior to use by a person to ensure accuracy. 

We hope this approach will make sure that we can take advantage of the benefits offered by AI while avoiding the clear pitfalls.

What counts as a good day in the office?

It’s always a good day when I am able to help a constituent. 

My fellow councillors will know that we can get enquiries on virtually any topic from local residents. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to help everyone, and that can be frustrating at times.

So, when you are able to help deliver a positive outcome for a local resident that makes a real difference in their life, it reminds you of what’s important.  

What keeps you awake at night?

I am genuinely concerned what the future holds for local government in Scotland. We need strong councils to represent local people, and deliver the vital services our communities rely on.

The sense of frustration that many residents have with local and national government is palpable. I fully understand that and share a lot of that frustration. 

When all is said and done, the erosion of funding to councils over the last 20 years by the Scottish Government has severely reduced our ability to deliver the services that people need.

They have also increased the amount of funds they ring-fence for their own priorities, which may not always be the same as local priorities.  Councils by and large have their hands tied – governments need to demonstrate more innovation and invest in council services. 

I worry that local government is being side-lined by national government, and we need to make sure councillors continue to speak up and provide a powerful voice for our smaller communities especially.

How do you describe what you do as council leader to a stranger?

In the simplest terms, I try and do the best I can for the people of West Lothian.

It’s a real privilege to be elected by the voters of Livingston South as a councillor, and by my fellow councillors as council leader.   

I take this responsibility seriously and put what is in the best interest of local people at the heart of any decision I make.

This article appears in Holyrood's Local Authorities Guide 2026.