The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

which created the current

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

structure of 32

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

covering the whole of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It abolished the two-tier structure of regions and districts created by the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...

which had previously covered Scotland except for the islands council areas. The Act came into effect on 1 April 1996, applying beginning with the 1995 Scottish local elections.

Initial proposals

The

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

, Ian Lang outlined proposed areas in a statement to the Commons on 8 July 1993. This outlined 25 unitary authorities (apart from the 3 Island Areas), as follows *

City of Aberdeen gd, Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain , native_name_lang = , other_name = , image_skyline = Town House, Municipal Offices and Court Houses in Aberdeen.jpg , image_caption ...

: existing Aberdeen District plus Westhill area of Gordon District *

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

: Banff and Buchan District, Gordon District less Westhill area, Kincardine and Deeside District less southern part of former County of Kincardineshire * Angus and Mearns: Angus District, the Monifieth and Sidlaw areas of Dundee District and the southern part of former County of Kincardineshire from Kincardine and Deeside District less *

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

: Argyll and Bute District, western part of Dumbarton District (including Helensburgh) *

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

and

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the his ...

: Berwickshire District, East Lothian District less Musselburgh/Fisherrow, Preston/Levenhall areas *

The Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian an ...

: Tweeddale District, Ettrick and Lauderdale District, Roxburgh District *

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. ...

and

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had ...

: Clackmannan District, Falkirk District, Kincardine Bridge area of Dunfermline District * Dumbarton and Clydebank: Clydebank District, Dumbarton District (less Helensburgh area) *

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

: Dumfries and Galloway Region *

City of Dundee Dundee City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for the Dundee, City of Dundee. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. History Dundee City became a single-tier Councils ...

: Dundee District less Monifieth and Sidlaw areas *

City of Edinburgh The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

: Edinburgh District *

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...

: Bearsden and Milngavie District, Strathkelvin District less area around Chryston formerly in the county of Lanarkshire *

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas ...

: Eastwood District, and the Barrhead area and Paisley suburbs in East Renfrewshire constituency from Renfrew District *

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

: Fife Region *

City of Glasgow Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of th ...

: Glasgow District less Toryglen/King's Park, Rutherglen/Fernhill and Cambuslang/Halfway areas *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

: Highland Region * The Lothians: Midlothian District, West Lothian District, the Musselburgh/Fisherrow, Preston/Levenhall areas of East Lothian District *

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government 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 (council area), ...

: Moray District *

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east a ...

: Cunninghame District, Cumnock and Doon Valley District, Kilmarnock and Loudoun District *

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

: Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District, Monklands District, Motherwell District, the area around Chryston formerly in the county of Lanarkshire from Strathkelvin District *

Perthshire and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and ...

: Perth and Kinross District *

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 Jun ...

: Kyle and Carrick District *

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

: Clydesdale District, Hamilton District, East Kilbride District, the Toryglen/King's Park, Rutherglen/Fernhill and Cambuslang/Halfway areas from Glasgow District *

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

: Stirling District *West Renfrewshire: Inverclyde District, Renfrew District less the Barrhead area and Paisley suburbs in East Renfrewshire constituency

New local government areas

Schedule I of the Act defined the new local government areas in terms of the existing districts and regions. Islands council areas had been unitary council areas since implementation of the 1973 Act, and Section 3 of the 1994 Act provided that the existing islands areas were to continue to be local government areas.

Area councils

Each area established by the Act was to be governed by an elected council. The council's title was simply the name of the area followed by the word "Council": ''Argyll and Bute Council'', ''Aberdeen City Council'' and so on. Each area was divided into wards with each ward returning a single councillor. The councillors were required to elect a convener, and could choose to elect a deputy convener. In the four city areas (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow) the convener's title was to be Lord Provost. In the other council areas the convener was to be ''"known by such title as the council may determine"'', other than Lord Provost. In 1998 sixteen councils were using the title " provost", the remaining twelve having conveners.''Whitaker's Concise Almanack 1999'', London , 1998 Area councils were obliged to make a draft

decentralisation Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

scheme by 1 April 1997. The scheme could provide for: * The holding of meetings of the council (or any committee or sub-committee) at particular places within the council area * The establishment of committees for particular areas and the delegation to them of specified functions * The location of council offices within the area * The provision of facilities for accessing advice on council services at particular places within the council area The plan was to include dates at which the various proposals were to be carried out. Having made the draft plan there was to be an eight-week period in which the area council was to consult with the relevant community councils and invite the public to make observations. The decentralisation scheme could then be adopted in original or modified form.

Community councils

Community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. I ...

s established by district councils under the 1973 Act were to continue to exist. The area councils took on the powers of the abolished districts to make or amend schemes for the establishment of communities.

Water supply and sewerage

Part II of the Act reorganised water supply and sewerage services, previously the responsibility of regional councils. Three water authorities were established, each with a defined water area and sewerage area (which were not necessarily identical). The water and sewerage areas were defined in schedule 8, as follows: The Act also established a Scottish Water and Sewerage Customers Council. The three water authorities were merged in 2002 to form Scottish Water.

Other functions

The reorganisation of local government areas also led to changes in policing, fire services, public transport and tourism promotion. These had been organised in 1975 to correspond to one or more regions. * The Police (Scotland) Act 1967 was amended to allow for the reconstitution of police areas and appointment of joint authorities. * Similarly fire services and authorities were reconstituted. * The Secretary of State for Scotland was to designate an area and constitution for the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority. * Area Tourist Boards were to be established by the Secretary of State. * Civic Licensing – the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 introduced a codified framework of regulation of activities such as taxis, street traders, public entertainment and so on. After the introduction of the 1994 Act, the "licensing authority" became the new unitary council for each area.

Notes and references

External links

Full text of the act, on legislation.gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Local Government Etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1994 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Scotland Local government in Scotland 1994 in Scotland Local government legislation in the United Kingdom