Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994

The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994

Long title An Act to make provision with respect to local government and the functions of local authorities; to make amendments in relation to local government finance, local authority accounts and the records of local authorities; to establish a Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority for the purposes of the Transport Act 1968; to provide for the establishment of new water and sewerage authorities; to provide for the establishment of a council to represent the interests of customers and potential customers of those new authorities; to provide for the vesting in those new authorities of the property, rights and liabilities of the Central Scotland Water Development Board and of such property, rights and liabilities of regional and islands councils as those councils have as water authorities, as providers of sewerage and in relation to dealing with the contents of sewers; to provide for the dissolution of that Board; to cancel certain obligations to contribute towards expenses which have been incurred by local authorities in making provision for sewerage or disposal of sewage in rural localities; to create an office of Principal Reporter and transfer to him the functions of reporters to children’s hearings; to establish a body to facilitate the performance by the Principal Reporter of his functions; to amend the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 in relation to children’s hearings; to amend the procedure for making byelaws under section 121 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982; to transfer to local authorities responsibility for fixing and reviewing polling districts and polling places in Parliamentary elections; to amend section 21 of the Self-Governing Schools etc. (Scotland) Act 1989; to amend the law relating to roads and the placing of traffic signs on roads; to make amendments in relation to valuation and rating; to abolish the Scottish Valuation Advisory Council; to empower the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority to guarantee certain obligations; to empower local authorities to make grants to ethnic minorities; to confer on local authorities the function of promoting economic development; to provide for the establishment of area tourist boards; to make amendments in relation to lieutenancies; all as respects Scotland; and for connected purposes.
Citation 1994 c.39
Introduced by Ian Lang
Territorial extent Scotland
Dates
Royal assent 3 November 1994
Commencement 1 April 1996
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk

The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which 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 1995, applying beginning in the 1995 local elections in Scotland.

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

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 area New unitary council area or areas District or districts incorporated or partly incorporated
Borders Borders
Became Scottish Borders		 Berwickshire, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Roxburgh and Tweeddale
Central Clackmannan
Became Clackmannanshire		 Clackmannan
Falkirk Falkirk
Stirling Stirling
Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway Annandale and Eskdale, Nithsdale, Stewartry and Wigtown
Fife Fife Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North East Fife
Grampian Aberdeenshire Banff and Buchan, Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside
City of Aberdeen
Became Aberdeen City		 City of Aberdeen
Moray Moray
Highland Highland Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness, Inverness, Lochaber, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh and Sutherland
Lothian East Lothian East Lothian
City of Edinburgh City of Edinburgh
Midlothian Midlothian
West Lothian West Lothian
Orkney Orkney Islands Not applicable
Shetland Shetland Islands Not applicable
Strathclyde Argyll and Bute Argyll 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 Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Cumnock and Doon Valley
East Dunbartonshire Bearsden and Milngavie and part of Strathkelvin (Kirkintilloch (43), Strathkelvin North (44) and Bishopbriggs (45) regional electoral divisions and South Lenzie/Waterside district ward)
East Renfrewshire Eastwood 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), Glasgow/Halfway regional electoral divisions and part of King's Park/Toryglen (35) regional electoral division)
Inverclyde Inverclyde
North Ayrshire Cunninghame
North Lanarkshire Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Monklands, Motherwell and part of Strathkelvin (part of Chryston (46) regional electoral division (all except South Lenzie/Waterside district ward))
Renfrewshire Part of Renfrew (all except Barrhead (79) regional electoral division)
South Ayrshire Kyle and Carrick
South Lanarkshire Clydesdale, East Kilbride, Hamilton and part of City of Glasgow (Rutherglen/Fernhill (37) and Cambuslang/Halfway (38), Glasgow/Halfway regional electoral divisions and part of King's Park/Toryglen (35) regional electoral division)
Tayside Angus Angus 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 Kinross Perth and Kinross and part of City of Dundee (part of Sidlaw (31) regional electoral division)
Western Isles Western 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 depute 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 Authority Water Area Constituent areas Sewerage Area Constituent areas
East of Scotland Eastern Lothian 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) Eastern Lothian Region, Borders Region, Fife Region, Central Region, the former county of Kinross
North of Scotland Northern Highland Region, Grampian Region, Tayside Region except the former county of Kinross, the Islands Areas Northern Highland Region, Grampian Region, Tayside Region except the former county of Kinross, the Islands Areas
West of Scotland Western Strathclyde Region except the parts included in the Eastern Water Area, Dumfries and Galloway Region Western Strathclyde 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

Notes and references

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