'Local government in Scotland' is organised through 32
unitary authorities[1] consisting of
councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the
council areas.
Councils receive the majority of their funding from central government, through Aggregate External Finance (AEF). AEF consists of three parts: Revenue Support Grants, Non-Domestic Rates, and Income and Specific Grants
[2]. The level of central government support for each authority is determined by the
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, currently
John Swinney MSP, and is distributed by the
Finance and Central Services Department of the
Scottish Executive. Councils obtain additional income through the
Council Tax, that the council itself sets
Scottish councils co-operate through, and are represented collectively by, the
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
History
Main articles: History of the local government of Scotland
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 , legislation passed by the
Conservative government of
Edward Heath (1970-1974) 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 (1990-1997) 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 with shadow councillors elected in 1995 to oversee the smooth transition of control.
Governance and administration
The power invested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors. There are currently 1,222, each paid a part-time salary for the undertaking of their duties. Each council elects a
Provost or
Convenor to chair meetings of the council and to 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 four-year duration of a council.
The four city councils;
Glasgow,
Edinburgh,
Aberdeen and
Dundee, have a
Lord Provost rather than a Provost, who has the additional duty of being
Lord Lieutenant for their respective city.
Each authority 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
executive,
deliberative and
legislative in nature.
In total, there are 32 unitary authorities, the largest being the
City of Glasgow with more than 600,000 inhabitants, the smallest, Orkney, with fewer than 20,000 people living there.
Election results, 2007
Follow the introduction of the
Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 local elections are held using the
single transferable vote, with this taking place for the first time in 2007. This change in voting system saw all but five councils end up with no one party in control. Labour retained control of the
City of Glasgow and
North Lanarkshire, while
Orkney,
Shetland and
Na h-Eileanan Siar continue to be controlled by Independent councillors. The total numbers of councillors elected per party were as follows
[3] :
'Summary of the
3 May 2007 Scottish council election results
|-
!colspan=2|Parties
!Councillors
!Net
Gain/Loss
|-
||363||+182
|-
||348||-161
|-
||166||-9
|-
||143||+21
|-
||8||+8
|-
||1||-1
|-
||1||+1
|-
| style="width: 10px" bgcolor=|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" | Independent & Other
||192||-42
|-
!colspan=2|Total!! 1,222!!
|}
Council control
The 32 unitary authorities are controlled as follows. The figures incorporate the results from the 2007 local government election, plus gains and losses from subsequent local by-elections, and party defections.
TOTAL |
- |
348 |
363 |
166 |
143 |
8 |
194 |
1222 |
Election results, 2003
Council control
The 32 unitary authorities were controlled as follows, before the 2007 elections. 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
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.
References and footnotes
1. In this context the phrase is descriptive, not prescriptive; "unitary authority" does not have the specific legal meaning that it has in England.
2. Core Revenue Funding, Scottish Executive website, accessed 28 April, 2007
3. Scottish councils A-Z, BBC News, May 8 2007
4. http://www.cosla.gov.uk/political_control.asp?leftId=10001C391-10766746&rightId=10001C391-11002366&hybrid=false
See also
★
Criminal Justice Social Work Services, probation services are provided by local authorities in Scotland
★
Business rates in Scotland
★
Local income tax
★
Local government in the United Kingdom
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