Scottish Government reveals council reform proposals

Scotland’s 32 councils could be replaced by a smaller number of regional authorities under Scottish Government plans.

The SNP administration has embarked on wide-ranging public service reforms and says change at council level will “help achieve a better balance of decision-making powers across the public sector to ensure investment is focused on delivering improved services”.

Initial proposals have now been shared with councils body Cosla and parliamentary committees.

They include creating new large-scale regional authorities, with a “substantial number” of new “community authorities” to take care of local decision-making.

Councillors could sit on both community and regional bodies to avoid more elections and tiers of bureaucracy, the government said.

Separate arrangements are under consideration for island communities.

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “Reforming Scotland’s public sector is about delivering the best public services for people across Scotland.

“We need to ensure investment is focused on frontline delivery, with the right staff in the right roles to empower communities and deliver real improvements in public services.

“Some decision making is best delivered at national level and regional level while others better sit closer to communities and we must get that balance right. Existing local government responsibilities could also be extended, including enhanced roles in economic development and business support so that individual areas can reflect local strengths and ambitions.

“These proposals are intended to provide a starting point to facilitate debate and discussion as we work to deliver reforms that strengthen public services and improve outcomes for the people and communities we serve.”