Orkney Islands Council Explained

Orkney Islands Council
Coa Pic:2007 Flag of Orkney.svg
Coa Caption:Flag
Coa Res:80px
Logo Pic:Orkney Islands Council.svg
Logo Res:120px
House Type:Unitary authority
Leader1 Type:Convener
Leader1:Graham Bevan
Party1:
Independent
Election1:17 May 2022
Leader2 Type:Leader
Leader2:Heather Woodbridge
Party2:
Independent
Election2:20 February 2024[1]
Leader3 Type:Chief Executive
Leader3:Oliver Reid
Election3:January 2023
Seats:21 councillors
Structure1 Alt:Orkney Islands Council composition
Voting System1:Single transferable vote
Last Election1:5 May 2022
Next Election1:2027
Term Length:Full council elected every 5 years
Meeting Place:Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, KW151NY
Session Room:OIC Reception - geograph.org.uk - 3619685.jpg
Motto:Boreas domus mare amicus (Latin: "The north our home, the sea our friend")

The Orkney Islands Council (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Eileanan Arcaibh), is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of the mid-1990s.

It provides services in the areas of environmental health, roads, social work, community development, organisational development, economic development, building standards, trading standards, housing, waste, education, burial grounds, port and harbours and others.[2] The council is allowed to collect Council Tax.

The council is also the harbour authority for Orkney and its marine services division manages the operation of the islands' 29 piers and harbours.[3]

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on School Place in Kirkwall. The building comprises the former Kirkwall Grammar School and the neighbouring former Paterson Church, with modern extensions linking the older buildings. The former Grammar School was built and converted to become the council's offices in 1978.[4] The Paterson Church, or East Church, was built in 1847 and converted and incorporated into the council offices in the early 2000s.

Elections

2012

Between 2012 and 2017 the council consisted of 21 members, all of whom were independent; they did not stand as representatives of a political party.[5]

These members are elected in the following wards:

2017

After the 2017 election there were 18 independents, 2 Orkney Manifesto Group (OMG) councillors and 1 Green councillor.[6] Of these, 18 councillors were actually elected; the remaining 3 were declared on the election day "as the result of the uncontested election in the Stromness and South Isles ward, where the number of candidates was equal to or less than the number of seats available".[7]

There were no official changes to the political composition of the council during the 2017–2022 term. However, independent councillor John Ross Scott (Kirkwall East) did announce he had joined the Greens in 2021, which did not change his affiliation on the council.[8] One by-election was held and resulted in an independent hold.[9]

The 2017 election elected these members:Candidates elected to form the new Council alongside Rob Crichton, James Stockan and Magnus Thomson in the uncontested Stromness and South Isles ward are:

Kirkwall East ward – David Dawson, Steven Heddle, John Ross Scott, Gwenda Shearer.

Kirkwall West and Orphir – Sandy Cowie, Barbara Foulkes, Leslie Manson, John Richards.

West Mainland – Harvey Johnston, Rachael King, Owen Tierney, Duncan Allan Tullock.

East Mainland – South Ronaldsay and Burray – Norman Craigie, Andrew Drever, Steve Sankey.

North Isles – Stephen Clackson, Graham Sinclair, Kevin Woodbridge.[10]

2022

After the 2022 election there were 19 independents, and 2 Green councillors.[11]

In January 2024, council leader James Stockan announced he would stand down as councillor after leading the authority for six years.[12]

In February 2024, Heather Woodbridge was announced as the new leader for the council. She is the first woman to lead the Orkney Islands Council, and at 29 years old is the youngest local authority leader in Scotland [13]

Composition

Seat composition
Party2022
Independentalign=right 19
Scottish Greensalign=right 2

Leaders

Political Leaders

!No.!!Political Leader!Party!Period in office!Election
1James StockanIndependent2017–20242017
2022
2Heather WoodbridgeIndependent2024–present2024

Convenors

!No.!!Convener!Party!Period in office!Election
1George MarwickIndependent1974–19781974
2Edwin EunsonIndependent1978–19901978
1982
1986
3Jackie TaitIndependent1990–19941994
4Hugh Halcro-JohnstonIndependent1994–20031994
1999
5Stephen HaganIndependent2003–20122003
2007
6Steven HeddleIndependent2012–20172012
7Harvey JohnstonIndependent2017–20222017
8Graham BevanIndependent2022–present2022

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Eichler . William . Orkney names Scotland's youngest council leader . 22 February 2024 . localgov.co.uk . 21 February 2024.
  2. https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Council/C/council.htm Council
  3. http://www.orkneyharbours.com/aboutus.asp Marine Services
  4. News: Council move in . 13 July 2023 . Aberdeen Press and Journal . 25 March 1978 . 23.
  5. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/06090117/3 "Social Work Inspection Agency: Performance Inspection Orkney Islands Council 2006. Chapter 2: Context."
  6. News: Orkney Islands Council : Election 2017 Results . BBC News . 8 May 2017.
  7. Web site: Orkney's results declared for the 2017 Scottish Local Government elections . Orkney Islands Council . 5 May 2017 . 8 May 2017.
  8. Web site: Councillor John Ross Scott joins Scottish Greens . The Orcadian . 22 March 2021 . 6 April 2022.
  9. Web site: Heather Woodbridge wins North Isles council seat . The Orcadian . 2 October 2020 . 6 April 2022.
  10. Web site: Orkney's results declared for the 2017 Scottish Local Government elections .
  11. Web site: Local Government Election – 5 May 2022 . Orkney Islands Council . 30 March 2022.
  12. News: 2024-01-15 . Orkney Islands Council leader James Stockan to step down . 2024-01-26 . BBC News . en-GB.
  13. News: 2024-02-20 . Orkney appoints Scotland's youngest council leader . 2024-02-20 . BBC News . en-GB.