Local government of Scotland
The
local government of Scotland is organised into 32
unitary authorities covering the mainland and islands of
Scotland. Each
local authority is
governed by a
council consisting of elected
councillors, who are elected every four years by registered voters in each of the
council areas.
Scottish councils co-operate through and are represented collectively by the
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
Between
1890 and
1975 local government in Scotland was organised with
county councils (including four
counties of cities) and various lower-level units. Between 1890 and 1929, there were parish councils and town councils, but with the passing of the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, the functions of parish councils were passed to larger district councils and a distinction was made between
large burghs (i.e. those with a population of 20,000 or more) and
small burghs. This system was further refined by the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947.
In
1975, the
Conservative government of
Edward Heath introduced a system of two-tier local government in Scotland (see
Regions of Scotland), divided between large Regional Councils and smaller District Councils. The only exceptions to this were the three Island Councils,
Western Isles,
Shetland and
Orkney which had the combined powers of Regions and Districts. The Conservative government of
John Major decided to abolish this system and merge their powers into new
unitary authorities. The new councils vary widely in size — some are the same as counties, such as
Clackmannanshire, some are the same as former districts, such as
Inverclyde and some are the same as the former regions, such as
Highland. The changes took effect in
1996.
The power invested in these authorities is administered by elected councillors. There are currently around 1,200 in total, each paid a part-time salary for the undertaking of their duties. Each authority elects a
Provost or
Convenor to chair meetings of the authority's council and act as a figurehead for the area. The office of Provost or Convenor is roughly equivalent to that of a
Mayor, though they are elected for the duration of a council (4 years).
The four main cities of Scotland,
Glasgow,
Edinburgh,
Aberdeen and
Dundee have a
Lord Provost rather than a Provost, who have the additional duty of being
Lord Lieutenant for their respective city.
The councillors are elected every four years.
Each council has a
chief executive who is similar in function to a
city manager, though certain councillors have executive authority and there is no clear
division of powers. The council is both
executive,
deliberative and
legislative in nature.
There are in total 32 unitary authorities, the largest being the
City of Glasgow with more than 600,000 inhabitants, the smallest, Orkney, with less than 20,000 people living there.
The 32 unitary authorities are controlled as follows. The figures incorporate the results from the 2003 local government election, plus gains and losses from subsequent local by-elections, and party defections.
Community councils represent the interests of local people. Local authorities have a statutory duty to consult Community Councils on planning, development and other issues directly affecting that local community. However, the Community Council has no direct say in the delivery of services. In many areas they do not function at all, but some work very effectively at improving their local area.
Elections for Community Councils are determined by the Local Authority but the law does state that candidates cannot stand on a party-political ticket.
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Local government in the United Kingdom
