Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland

The Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland is an independent body in Scotland created under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. According to its own website, [ [http://www.lgbc-scotland.gov.uk/ Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland website] ] it is responsible for: carrying out reviews of boundaries of local authority areas; reviews of electoral arrangements for local authorities; and responding to requests for ad hoc reviews of electoral or administrative arrangements. Its work relates to the local government of Scotland, and it reports to the Scottish Government. Its counterpart organisations elsewhere in the UK are the Boundary Committee for England, the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales and the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland.

The Boundary Commission for Scotland is a separate body, concerned with the boundaries of constituencies in Scotland.

Electoral reviews

In 2006, the Commission completed its Fourth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements, as required by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, producing new wards for use in single transferable vote elections which each return 3 or 4 councillors. These were first used in elections in 2007. The review resulted in a total of 353 wards across Scotland, returning a total of 1222 councillors.

The Commission’s Third Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements reported during 1998 and recommended the electoral arrangements for the unitary local authorities introduced in 1995. The Commission’s Second Review reported between 1992 and 1994, and its Initial Review between 1977 and 1979: both concerned the Region and District local government structure that was then in place.

Administrative area reviews

The Commission has conducted a series of reviews of local authority areas to address situations where development has taken place across local authority boundaries, or where local authority areas established by the 1973 Act did not reflect local preferences. In the words of the 1973 Act, the Commission’s recommendations are made "in the interests of effective and convenient local government". The most recent reviews reported early in 2001 and proposed four small changes to the boundaries of authorities to avoid bisecting developed areas.

The 1973 Act gives the Commission powers to conduct wide-ranging reviews of local authority structures in Scotland. However, Ministers have currently directed the Commission to only conduct reviews affecting 300 electors or less.

External Links

[http://www.lgbc-scotland.gov.uk Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland website]

[http://www.lgbc-wales.gov.uk Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales website]

[http://www.boundarycommittee.org.uk Boundary Committee for England website]

[http://www.lgbc-ni.org Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland website]

[http://www.bcomm-scotland.gov.uk Boundary Commission for Scotland website]

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