Last week, I received a demand for £42,686. It arrived more than two years after I stepped down as Chair of Glasgow City Parents Group, a volunteer-led organisation that represented parents and carers across Glasgow.

Like anyone else, my first thoughts were practical. How would I pay it? What would happen if I couldn't? What would the impact be on my family?

But the more I've reflected on the situation, the more I've realised that the bigger question isn't what happens to me.

It's what happens to participation.

It's what happens to the ordinary people who give up their evenings, weekends and spare time to represent others, challenge decisions and try to improve the communities they live in.

It's what happens to the next volunteer.

For more than a decade, I was involved in parent representation and community engagement. Like thousands of volunteers across Scotland, I attended meetings after work, answered emails late at night and spent countless hours trying to ensure local people had a voice in decisions that affected them.

Neither were the volunteers who worked alongside me.

We got involved because we believed people should have a say in the decisions that shape their lives, their communities and their public services.

That principle extends far beyond schools.

Every community relies on people willing to step forward. People who organise campaigns, represent neighbours, sit on committees, respond to consultations, attend meetings and ask difficult questions.

Most of these people are not politicians, lawyers or professional campaigners.

They are ordinary citizens who care enough to get involved.

Whether the issue is education, housing, transport, healthcare, planning, community facilities, environmental concerns or local services, public participation depends on people believing their voice matters.

The legal........

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