Committees
Scottish Borders Council is one of 32 local authorities in Scotland. It has 34 Elected Members. It is these Councillors who make the decisions on how the Council spends its money and which services it provides to the people of the Borders, although they can only do so within the bounds of the legislation which governs the Council.
Departments are managed by Directors who make sure that the decisions of the Councillors are carried out.
The Councillors make their decisions in various committees, and the Council currently has an Executive/Scrutiny committee structure. Each of these committees has a particular remit and you can find out more about each Committee in the Council’s Scheme of Administration. The conduct of each Committee meeting is governed by the Council’s Standing Orders.
Reports are produced by officers of the Council for each committee meeting. This gives Elected Members relevant information to allow them to come to a decision on a particular matter. This may seem like a time consuming business, but it is important that Councillors have enough information to allow them to make a considered judgment on behalf of the people of the Borders, and it is the essence of democracy and public accountability.
The Council has also chosen to delegate some decisions to officers of the Council. Details of this are to be found in the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.
No decision is ever delegated to an individual Councillor. This means that Councillors cannot make decisions on their own but must do so either collectively at a committee meeting, or in consultation with officers of the Council.
Council committee's agenda's, reports and minutes can now be found in the Council Papers section of the website.
Joint Boards
Police and Fire and Rescue services are provided through joint boards with neighbouring authorities.
For further information about each of the Joint Boards, please use the links below:
Lothian and Borders Police Board - Edinburgh/East/West/Mid Lothian/Borders Councils
Lothian and Borders Police Board is the police authority for the South East of Scotland. The Police Board is made up of
councillors drawn from City of Edinburgh Council, East Lothian Council, Midlothian Council, West Lothian Council and Scottish
Borders Council. The Board's main responsibility is to hold the Chief Constable to account for the policing of the area,
and to set the budget for Lothian and Borders Police.
For further information visit www.lothianandborderspoliceboard.org
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board - Edinburgh/East/West/Mid Lothian/Borders Councils
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board makes provision for an effective fire service in South East Scotland. The Fire
and Rescue Board is responsible for fire fighting and rendering humanitarian services in the region, and is made up of councillors
drawn from City of Edinburgh Council, Midlothian Council, East Lothian Council, West Lothian Council and Scottish Borders
Council. The responsibility for the organisation, management and financing of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service
is shared between three parties: the Fire Authority, the Chief Fire Officer and the First Minister of the Scottish Executive.
For further information visit http://www.lothian.fire-uk.org
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