The role of a local authority
Scotland has four tiers of government.
Central Government
- At the centre there is the United Kingdom government, (often referred to as central government). The government of the day is the largest party elected to Parliament, currently, the Labour Party.
- The United Kingdom government makes UK-wide policy and is responsible for a number of matters not devolved to the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh assembly, such as national security, defence matters and tax. (The Scottish Parliament has limited tax-raising powers but does not currently exercise them).
Scottish Parliament
- The next tier is the Scottish Parliament, comprising 129 elected and list (proportional representation) members (MSPs). Most matters of government directly related to Scotland are devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government is formed by the largest party elected to the Scottish Parliament. (Currently, no party has an overall majority and the Scottish administration is a coalition of the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
- The government operates through the Scottish Executive, with its Headquarters in Edinburgh. The Scottish Executive sets and directs national policy for Scotland and allocates funds to local authorities from the Scottish national "block grant" from the Treasury.
Local Government
- The third tier of government are the 3 islands and 29 mainland unitary councils, (often referred to as local government), of which Scottish Borders Council is one. The Council is made up of the 34 Councillors, each of whom represent a single-member ward of approximately 2,500 electors.
- The thirty-two Councils provide a wide range of public services paid for from a combination of national grant-aid from HM Treasury, Council Tax payments from residents and other grant aid. The members of the Councils are unpaid, but those with posts of special responsibility are paid allowances to enable them to undertake their duties.
- Councils operate either a traditional Committee system or a "cabinet" style of government. In the latter system, a small "Executive" group formed from the administration of the day makes all day-to-day decisions within a policy framework set by the Council as a whole.
- The Executive is held to account by a cross-party group, often called the "Scrutiny" committee. Scottish Borders Council operates this latter system. Councils meet in full session sometimes as often as monthly, but more often six-weekly or every two months.
- All meetings of the Council and its Committees and working groups are held in public, and are advertised in advance, except for business which must, because of its nature, be held in private. When a meeting moves into private business, the Chairman must make a declaration of that fact under the Local Government (Scotland) Act before proceeding and he or she may then ask the public and media to leave the meeting. The presumption, however, is in favour of matters being discussed in public wherever possible.
Community Councils
- The fourth tier is the Community Councils, which are made up of representatives of individual communities. There are 65 community councils currently operating in the Scottish Borders. The members of the Community Councils are volunteers and elections are held only when the number of candidates putting themselves forward for election exceeds the number of seats available.
- Community Councils generally meet once a month in public to debate local issues, consult on the business of their local unitary council and make their views known to the members of the unitary council to be taken into account when decisions are made that affect the local community.
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