The Scottish Government has opened the debate about local government reform in Scotland with a bold initial proposition to replace the current 32 councils with 6-10 regional authorities and 120-160 community authorities. In this briefing, we examine the proposals and look at how they could support stronger communities.
The direction of travel towards councils based on actual communities of place, with shared and regional functions within national frameworks, reflects the many papers we have published in recent years. However, the key issues will be getting the balance of services right, with subsidiarity as the principle. Services must be properly financed, and this must also be part of the discussion.