Local government areas covering the whole of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

were first defined by the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 50) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland. In this it fol ...

. As currently defined, they are a result, for the most part, of the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current Local government in Scotland, local government structure of 32 Unitary authority, unitary authori ...

. The 1889 act created a country-wide system of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

based on pre-existing

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

s. Prior to this act burghs had their own elected local government councils but counties did not. The county and burgh system was abolished by the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

and replaced by a system of regions and districts and single-tier islands council areas. The 1994 act abolished the regions and districts and replaced them with a new system entirely composed of single-tier authorities; the Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles councils were continued by section 3 of the act in substantially unchanged form.

1889 to 1930

Over this period local government in Scotland was based on three units:

, burghs and

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Counties

The

reformed the administration of counties and also made alterations to their number and boundaries:

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

and

Cromartyshire Cromartyshire () was a county in the Highlands of Scotland, comprising the medieval "old shire" around the county town of Cromarty and 22 enclaves and exclaves transferred from Ross-shire in the late 17th century. The largest part, six times th ...

were combined to form

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

; the Lower, Middle and Upper Wards of the

County of Lanark Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no longer used for local government purposes, but gives ...

, which formed separate counties for some purposes, were merged; and Orkney and Zetland were divided into distinct counties. A boundary commission was appointed, and between 1891 and 1892 many anomalies in county boundaries were rectified.Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, c.50 In 1890 each of thirty-three counties was given a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

, partly elected, and partly co-opted by the town councils of burghs in the county. In effect the county council only exercised full powers in the "landward" areas of the county, outside of burgh boundaries.

Districts

County councils were required to divide their county into districts, each of which was under the supervision of a district committee with powers and duties independent of the county council in regard to highways and public health. The district committee was composed of the county councillors elected for the area along with one representative from the parochial board of each parish in the district. Burgh councils could transfer the maintenance of the highways and bridges of the town to the county council, whereupon a representative of the burgh was appointed to the committee. In counties with fewer than six parishes, the county council was not obliged to form districts.

Burghs

Burghs were a form of town government dating back to the 12th century. Originally created by charter, and mainly concerned with trading privileges, they had been reformed earlier in the 19th century. Legislation enacted in 1833 allowed the inhabitants of existing burghs to adopt a "police system" allowing for the paving, lighting, cleansing, watching, supplying with water, and improving of the town. A further act of Parliament, the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 46) could be adopted by any place with a population of 700 which thereupon became a "police burgh". Those burghs which had not adopted a police system were abolished in 1893. Burghs were largely autonomous, and when county councils were established they had a limited jurisdiction within burgh boundaries.

Counties of cities

The royal burgh of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

was, by virtue of various charters, a "county and city" and entirely outside the jurisdiction of

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

County Council. In 1893

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

became a county of a city by local act of Parliament, the

County of the City of Glasgow Act 1893 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) ''Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denotin ...

( 56 & 57 Vict. c. clxxxviii).

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

followed with the

Dundee Corporation Act 1894 Dundee (; ; or , ) is the fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under t ...

( 57 & 58 Vict. c. lxxiv) and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

with the Aberdeen Corporation Act 1899 (c. lx).

Parishes

The lowest tier of local government was the parish. Parochial boards had been established in 1845 for the administration of

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

, and, outside burghs, had gradually acquired various public health duties. In 1894 they were replaced with elected parish councils.

Education areas

In 1919 Scotland was divided into education areas. These consisted of the four counties of cities, the burgh of

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

and each of the local government counties. In the case of the counties, they were to include "every burgh situated therein". The education authorities were elected under

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

, and unlike the county councils, all members were directly elected.

1930 to 1975

By 1928 Scotland had 1,298 different local authorities, many of them overlapping. In November the Scottish Office issued a bill to reform local government: this sought to abolish 1,064 of the various bodies, leaving only 33 county councils and 201 burgh councils. Burghs (other than the counties of cities) were to be divided into two classes:

large burgh Large burgh was a type of municipal structure in Scotland, which existed from 1930 to 1975. History When county councils had been established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, there were 26 burghs which were excluded from ...

s and

small burgh A small burgh was a unit of local government in Scotland created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 in 1930. The Act reclassified existing burghs into two classes, large and small burghs. While large burghs became largely independent of t ...

s. Large burghs were to gain considerable powers from the county councils. Small burghs, conversely, were to cede most of their duties to the county councils. The original bill was altered in the course of passage through Parliament. In response to protests that the abolition of both parish councils and district committees left a gap in the system, the landward part of each county was to be divided into districts, governed by councils consisting partly of the county councillors for the area and partly of elected district councillors. The final act, the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ( 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 25) reorganised local government in Scotland from 1930, introducing joint county councils, large and small burghs and district councils. The Act also abolished the Scottish poor law s ...

( 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 25), also provided for the combination of a number of neighbouring small burghs, and paired

Kinross-shire The County of Kinross or Kinross-shire is a historic county and registration county in eastern Scotland, administered as part of Perth and Kinross since 1975. Surrounding its largest settlement and county town of Kinross, the county borders Per ...

and

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

and

Nairnshire The County of Nairn, or Nairnshire, () is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was named after Nairn, its only town. The county was used for local government until 1975 when the ...

and

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

into "combined counties". The individual counties and county councils continued to exist in these areas, but a joint county council became the principal local authority.Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 c. 25 Following the changes, which came into effect in 1930, the following were the local government areas into which Scotland was divided: *The four counties of cities *29 counties *2 combined counties *Large burghs (those with a population of 20,000 or more, plus

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

) *Small burghs *Landward districts This system was restated in the consolidating

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 65) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on 1 October 1947. Section 1 of the act reads: The umbrella organisation for dis ...

( 10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 43). The number of small burghs increased and the number of districts declined over the time period. Neither the 1929 or 1947 legislation contained a procedure by which a small burgh could become a large burgh on reaching sufficient population. Accordingly, only one new large burgh was formed at

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

, which required the passing of a local act of Parliament, the East Kilbride Burgh Act 1967 (c. x).

1973 to 1996

The

created a system of nine two-tier regions and three single-tier islands council areas, and this system completely replaced local government

and burghs in 1975. Each two-tier region had a regional council and of a number of district subdivisions, each with its own district council. The number of districts in each region varied from three to 19. The 1973 act was based closely on proposals in the Wheatley Report, produced by a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

into Scottish local government in 1969. The new regions and districts were generally very different from the counties and districts which they replaced. Two of the new islands council areas had the boundaries of former counties. The third consisted of an area formerly divided between two counties.

1994 to present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Local Government Areas of Scotland Local government in Scotland