Subdivisions of Scotland

Scotland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Scotland

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For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities^[1] designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997^[2] of being known (but not re-designated) as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic name; only Na h-Eileanan Siar has chosen this option.

The council areas have been in existence since 1 April 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

Other administrative bodies (some of which are described below) still follow boundaries derived from older local government arrangements.

History of the subdivisions of Scotland

Before 1996 the local government divisions of Scotland were regions and districts (each region consisting of a number of districts) and unitary island council areas; that scheme was introduced on 16 May 1975.

Before then there existed counties, counties of cities, large burghs and small burghs, these being introduced since 1889. Before 1889 administration was on a burgh and parish basis.

Traditionally burghs have been the key unit of the local government of Scotland, being highly autonomous entities, with rights to representation in the old Parliament of Scotland. Even after the Acts of Union 1707, burghs continued to be the principal subdivision.

Council areas

Other subdivisions

Scotland has several other administrative divisions, some of which are handled by joint boards of the councils.

Police and fire services

Police and fire service areas date from the era (1975 to 1996) of regions and districts and island council areas.

Electoral and valuation

There are several joint boards for electoral registration and the purposes of property valuation for assessing council tax and rates.^[3]

Health

See also NHS Scotland

Transport

The Scottish Government has created seven "Regional Transport Partnerships", for establishing transport policy in the regions. They broadly follow council area groupings.

Sheriffdoms

Sheriffdoms are judicial areas. Since 1 January 1975 these have been six in number:^[4]

• Glasgow and Strathkelvin
• Grampian, Highland and Islands
• Lothian and Borders
• North Strathclyde
• South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway
• Tayside, Central and Fife

Civil parishes

Scotland is divided into 871 civil parishes. Although they have had no administrative function since 1930, they still exist and are still used for statistical purposes such as the census. Many former civil parish areas also continue to form current registration districts.

Communities

The base level of sub-division in Scotland is that of communities which may elect community councils (CCs). The main role of the CCs is to channel local opinion to larger local-government bodies. Otherwise they have very limited powers. There are around 1200 communities in Scotland. Not all communities have councils; some have joint councils.

Scottish communities are the nearest equivalent to civil parishes in England.

See also

• List of articles about local government in the United Kingdom
• ISO 3166-2:GB, subdivision codes for the United Kingdom
• Fire and Rescue Authority (Scotland), a body responsible for fire services which is formed from persons representing the authority or authorities within its area.

References