Council leaders wary of radical plan to redraw Scotland's local government map
The Scottish Government has published initial proposals to scrap Scotland's 32 councils in favour of regional and community authorities — the biggest shake-up of the council system in 30 years. Council leaders are digesting the plan with caution.
Council leaders across Scotland are digesting the most radical proposals for local government reform in three decades, after the Scottish Government published a paper proposing to scrap the country’s 32 unitary councils.
The paper, published on Monday, suggests replacing the current structure with between six and 10 regional authorities — which would take on larger planning decisions, education and economic development — and between 120 and 160 local “community” authorities handling local planning, licensing and the historic environment.
The government argues the existing model has not been fundamentally reviewed since devolution, and that some authorities are now “too big to be local” while others are “too small to be strategic”. Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said the aim was to ensure public money was focused on frontline services while giving communities greater influence over decisions.
Ministers hope to reach a shared direction on reform before the end of 2026, with early decisions folded into the next Scottish Budget.
Reaction has been cautious. Council umbrella body COSLA said it would participate in discussions but that engagement “should not be interpreted as agreement to a predetermined restructuring”, and COSLA president Councillor Shona Morrison warned the body would not support changes which “dilute local democracy, centralise decision-making or remove accountability”.
The local government think tank LGIU noted that nothing in the SNP manifesto for the 2026 Holyrood elections had suggested “anything as radical as this”, questioning who would decide the geographies of the new authorities and how Scotland’s largest cities would be affected.
Sources
- BBC News: “Council leaders wary of radical plan to redraw Scotland’s local government map” — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6d79wv425gxo
- Scottish Housing News: “Scotland’s 32 councils could be replaced under major local government overhaul” — https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/scotlands-32-councils-could-be-replaced-under-major-local-government-overhaul
- LGIU: “Scottish Government’s council reform proposition – what does it mean?” — https://lgiu.org/scottish-governments-council-reform-proposition-what-does-it-mean/
- Europesays/Britain: “Scottish Government announces proposals to scrap current council structure” — https://www.europesays.com/britain/128951/
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