Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
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| 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. |
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| Citation | 1994 c.39 |
| Introduced by | Ian Lang |
| Territorial extent | Scotland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 3 November 1994 |
| Commencement | 1 April 1996 |
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Status: Current legislation
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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.
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.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, 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
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.
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.
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