Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 explained

Short Title:Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Year:1994
Citation:1994 c. 39
Introduced By:Ian Lang
Territorial Extent:Scotland
Royal Assent:3 November 1994
Commencement:1 April 1996
Replaces:Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Act 1955
Status:Amended
Original Text:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/39/contents/enacted
Use New Uk-Leg:yes

The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland.[1]

It abolished the two-tier structure of regions and districts created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 which had previously covered Scotland except for the islands council areas.

The Act came into effect on 1 April 1996, beginning with the 1995 Scottish local elections.

Initial proposals

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Lang outlined proposed areas in a statement to the Commons on 8 July 1993.[2] [3] This outlined 25 unitary authorities (apart from the 3 Island Areas), as follows

Highland Region

Midlothian District, West Lothian District, the Musselburgh/Fisherrow, Preston/Levenhall areas of East Lothian District

Moray District

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

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

Perth and Kinross District

Kyle and Carrick District

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

Stirling District

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.[4]

Areas established by the Act (Names for some of the council areas have changed since the Act was passed.)
Region or islands council areaNew unitary council area or areasDistrict or districts incorporated or partly incorporated
BordersBorders
Became Scottish Borders
Berwickshire, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Roxburgh and Tweeddale
CentralClackmannan
Became Clackmannanshire
Clackmannan
FalkirkFalkirk
Stirling
Dumfries and GallowayAnnandale and Eskdale, Nithsdale, Stewartry and Wigtown
FifeFife
GrampianAberdeenshire
City of Aberdeen
Became Aberdeen City
City of Aberdeen
MorayMoray
HighlandHighlandBadenoch and Strathspey, Caithness, Inverness, Lochaber, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh and Sutherland
LothianEast LothianEast Lothian
City of EdinburghCity of Edinburgh
MidlothianMidlothian
West LothianWest Lothian
OrkneyOrkney IslandsNot applicable
ShetlandShetland IslandsNot applicable
StrathclydeArgyll and Bute and part of Dumbarton (Helensburgh (7) regional electoral division and part of Vale of Leven (8) regional electoral division)
Dumbarton and Clydebank
Became West Dunbartonshire
Clydebank and part of Dumbarton (Dumbarton (6) regional electoral division and part of Vale of Leven (8) regional electoral division)
East Ayrshire
East DunbartonshireBearsden and Milngavie and part of Strathkelvin (Kirkintilloch (43), Strathkelvin North (44) and Bishopbriggs (45) regional electoral divisions and South Lenzie/Waterside district ward)
East RenfrewshireEastwood and part of Renfrew (Barrhead (79) regional electoral division)
City of Glasgow
Became Glasgow City
Part of City of Glasgow (all except Rutherglen/Fernhill (37) and Cambuslang/Halfway (38) regional electoral divisions, and part of King's Park/Toryglen (35) regional electoral division)
InverclydeInverclyde
North Ayrshire
North LanarkshireCumbernauld and Kilsyth, Monklands, Motherwell and part of Strathkelvin (part of Chryston (46) regional electoral division (all except South Lenzie/Waterside district ward))
RenfrewshirePart of Renfrew (all except Barrhead (79) regional electoral division)
South AyrshireKyle and Carrick
South LanarkshireClydesdale, East Kilbride, Hamilton and part of City of Glasgow (Rutherglen/Fernhill (37) and Cambuslang/Halfway (38) regional electoral divisions, and part of King's Park/Toryglen (35) regional electoral division)
TaysideAngusAngus and part of City of Dundee (Monifieth (30) regional electoral division and part of Sidlaw (31) regional electoral division)
City of Dundee
Became Dundee City
Part of City of Dundee (all except Monifieth (30) regional electoral division and part of Sidlaw (31) regional electoral division)
Perth and KinrossPerth and Kinross and part of City of Dundee (part of Sidlaw (31) regional electoral division)
Western IslesWestern Isles
Became Na h-Eileanan Siar
Not applicable

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.[5]

Area councils were obliged to make a draft decentralisation scheme by 1 April 1997. The scheme could provide for:

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 councils 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:

Water and sewerage areas established by the Act
Water AuthorityWater AreaConstituent areasSewerage AreaConstituent areas
East of ScotlandEasternLothian Region, Borders Region, Fife Region, Central Region, The former county of Kinross, that part of the former counties of Stirling and Dunbarton which lay within both Strathclyde Region and the region of the former Mid-Scotland Water Board, Craigmaddie Loch (which had been transferred from Stirling District and Central Region to Strathkelvin District and Strathclyde Region on 1 April 1977)EasternLothian Region, Borders Region, Fife Region, Central Region, the former county of Kinross
North of ScotlandNorthernHighland Region, Grampian Region, Tayside Region except the former county of Kinross, the Islands Areas NorthernHighland Region, Grampian Region, Tayside Region except the former county of Kinross, the Islands Areas
West of ScotlandWesternStrathclyde Region except the parts included in the Eastern Water Area, Dumfries and Galloway Region WesternStrathclyde Region, Dumfries and Galloway Region

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.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of Local Government in Scotland. Scottish Government. 16 December 2011.
  2. Local Government (Scotland). 469. 8 July 1993. House of Commons.
  3. Councils in Scotland to face shake-up, The Times. 9 July 1993.
  4. Book: McConnell, Alan. Scottish Local Government. 2004. Edinburgh University Press. 978-0-7486-2005-0. 54–55.
  5. Whitaker's Concise Almanack 1999, London, 1998