Scottish councils in 24-hour What We Do Twitter event

Highland Council is among those taking part in the 24-hour What We Do event

Scottish councils are to use social networking site Twitter to raise awareness about the range of services they provide.

Almost all of Scotland's 32 local authorities will take part in a 24-hour event called What We Do.

It begins at midday on Tuesday 27 September and will end at midday on Wednesday 28 September.

The aim is to give residents an insight into a day in the life of their council.

Local authorities will tweet updates about services to the micro-blogging site using the hashtag #whatwedo.

The event has been organised by the National Communications Group, a body that brings together communications officers from all of Scotland's councils to promote local government.

It said it was inspired by the success of other organisations who have been using new media to raise awareness about their services.

Challenging times

Kate Bond, chair of the National Communications Group and head of service for Aberdeenshire Council, said: "This is an excellent opportunity for local government to improve awareness and understanding of what we do.

"Social networking is becoming an increasingly popular way for us to engage with residents and we hope that people will take the opportunity to learn more about the work of their council and actively engage with us as part of this initiative."

Highland Council is among those taking part.

Council budget leader David Alston said: "The What We Do event is an opportunity for the council to take part in a national initiative to experiment with what is rapidly becoming an important communication tool.

"Councils provide literally hundreds of services around the clock, 365 days a year, and this event will give service users a chance to see one day in the life of a council.

"We face challenging financial times but it's important that people understand the kinds of services we provide even faced with those challenges."