Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994

Part I — Local Government Reorganisation

Chapter 1 — Local Government Areas, Authorities and Elections

Local government areas in Scotland

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• (1) Scotland shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act, have local government areas for the administration of local government on and after 1st April 1996.

• (2) Scotland shall be divided into the local government areas named in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, and those areas shall comprise the areas described in column 2 of Part I.

• (3) On 1st April 1996—

• (a) all local government areas existing immediately before that date which are regions or districts; and

• (b) all regional and district councils,

shall cease to exist.

• (4) Part II of Schedule 1 (provisions as to boundaries) shall have effect.

Constitution of councils

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• (1) For every local government area there shall be a council consisting of a convener and councillors.

• (2) Subject to any provision of this Act and of the Environment Act 1995, the council for each local government area shall on and after 1st April 1996 have all the functions exercised immediately before that date in relation to their area by any existing regional, islands or district council.

• (3) The council for each local government area shall be a body corporate by the name “The Council” with the addition of the name of the particular area, and shall have a common seal.

Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles

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• (1) The islands councils of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles shall continue to exist as bodies corporate but, on and after 1st April 1996—

• (a) they shall be known as “Orkney Islands Council”, “Shetland Islands Council” and “Western Isles Council”; and

• (b) their areas shall be known as “Orkney Islands”, “Shetland Islands” and “Western Isles”,

respectively.

• (2) The islands councils consisting of the councillors elected for the islands areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles at the ordinary election held in 1994 shall continue as councils until the second ordinary election of councillors for the new councils held under section 5 of this Act.

Convener and depute convener

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• (1) The council of each local government area shall elect a convener from among the councillors.

• (2) A council may elect a member of the council to be depute convener.

• (3) Subject to the provisions of this section and of Schedule 2 to this Act, the standing orders of a council may make provision for—

• (a) the duration of the term of office (which may not extend beyond the day on which the poll is held at the next ordinary election of the council); and

• (b) the procedure for early removal from office,

of the convener and depute convener.

• (4) The election of the convener shall be the first business transacted at the first meeting of the council held after an ordinary election of councillors and at that meeting, until the convener is elected, the returning officer or, failing him, such councillor as may be selected by the meeting shall preside.

• (5) A person holding the office of convener or depute convener shall be eligible for re-election but shall cease to hold office upon ceasing to be a councillor.

• (6) On a casual vacancy occurring in the office of convener, an election to fill the vacancy shall be held as soon as practicable by the council at a meeting of the council the notice of which specifies the filling of the vacancy as an item of business, and the depute convener or, failing him, a councillor selected by the meeting shall preside.

• (7) The convener of each of the councils of the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow shall, with effect from 1st April 1996, be known by the title of “Lord Provost”, and the convener of each other council shall be known by such title as that council may decide:

• (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Elections and term of office of councillors

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (1A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (1B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (1C) After the ordinary election of councillors in 2017 the next ordinary election shall take place in 2022, and ordinary elections shall take place every fifth year after that.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) Councillors shall retire on the day on which the poll is held at the ordinary election next following the date on which they were elected.

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date of elections

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For subsection (1) of section 43 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (day of ordinary local elections in Scotland) substitute—

(1) In every year in which ordinary elections of councillors for local government areas in Scotland are held, the day of election is— (a) the first Thursday in May; or (b) such other day as may be fixed by the Secretary of State by order made by statutory instrument not later than 1st February in the year preceding the year or, in the case of an order affecting more than one year, the first year in which the order is to take effect. (1A) An order made under subsection (1)(b) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

.

Establishment of new local authorities and supplementary provisions

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• (1) Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the establishment of the new local authorities, the suspension of elections of existing authorities and related matters.

• (2) This Part of this Act shall have effect, in relation to such establishment, subject to the provisions of that Schedule.

• (3) Schedule 2 shall not apply in relation to the councils of Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Western Isles.

Chapter 2 — Staff

Transfer of employees

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of State may by order make provision with respect to—

• (a) the transfer of employees from an existing local authority to a new authority with effect from 1st April 1996; and

• (b) any matters arising out of or related to such transfer.

• (2) An order under this section may, without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)(a) above—

• (a) make provision as to the new authority to which groups of employees, or particular employees, are to be transferred;

• (b) prescribe a general rule or rules by which the transfer of employees, or of specified groups of employees, can be determined.

• (3) Each regional and district council shall, in accordance with the provisions of an order made under this section, prepare a scheme in relation to the transfer under or by virtue of this Act of their employees.

• (4) No scheme under subsection (3) above shall be made without the consent of the new authority or authorities, or of the new water and sewerage authority or authorities (within the meaning of Part II of this Act), to whom the employees concerned are to be transferred or, failing such consent, without the consent of the Secretary of State.

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) An order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (7) In this section—

• “existing local authority” includes a joint committee and a joint board but does not, subject to any other provision of this Act, include an islands authority;

• ...

• “new authority” means any of the authorities constituted under section 2 of this Act (other than Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands or Western Isles), a residuary body and a joint board; and

• ...

Effect of section 8 on contracts of employment

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• (1) This section applies to any person transferred from an existing local authority to a new authority under or by virtue of an order under section 8 of this Act.

• (2) The contract of employment between such a person (the “employee”) and his present employer shall not be terminated by the abolition of that employer but shall have effect from 1st April 1996 (the “transfer date”) as if originally made between the employee and such new authority (his “new employer”) as may be specified in relation to him in an order made under section 8 of this Act.

• (3) Without prejudice to subsection (2) above—

• (a) all the present employer’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with a contract to which that subsection applies shall by virtue of this section be transferred on the transfer date to the new employer; and

• (b) anything done before the transfer date by or in relation to the present employer in respect of that contract or the employee shall be deemed after that date to have been done by or in relation to the new employer.

• (4) Subsections (2) and (3) above are without prejudice to any right of an employee to terminate his contract of employment if a substantial change is made to his detriment in his terms and conditions of employment, but no such right shall arise by reason only of the change of employer effected by section 8 of this Act.

• (5) In this section—

• “existing local authority” includes a joint committee and a joint board but does not, subject to any other provision of this Act, include an islands authority; and

• “new authority” means any of the authorities constituted under section 2 of this Act (other than Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands or Western Isles), a residuary body and a joint board.

Continuity of employment

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• (1) This section applies to a person who at any time after the passing of this Act ceases to be employed by an existing local authority (his “former employer”) if—

• (a) the termination of his employment is attributable, directly or indirectly, to any provision made by or under this Act;

• (b) he is subsequently employed by another person (his “new employer”); and

• (c) by virtue of section 138 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (renewal or re-engagement) that subsequent employment precludes his receiving any redundancy payment under Part XI of that Act.

• (2) Where this section applies to a person, Chapter I of Part XIV of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (computation of a period of employment for the purposes of that Act) shall have effect in relation to that person as if it included the following provisions, that is to say—

• (a) the period of employment of that person with his former employer shall count as a period of employment with his new employer; and

• (b) the change of employer shall not break the continuity of the period of employment.

• (3) Where this section applies to a person, the period of his employment with his former employer shall count as a period of employment with his new employer for the purposes of any provision of his contract of employment with his new employer which depends on his length of service with that employer.

• (4) In this section “existing local authority” includes a joint committee and a joint board but does not, subject to any other provision of this Act, include an islands authority.

Remuneration of employees of local authorities

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• (1) For the purposes of this section the Secretary of State may, after consulting such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be appropriate—

• (a) designate such existing body as he considers appropriate; or

• (b) by order made by statutory instrument establish a new body,

(in this section referred to, in either case, as “the advisory body”) to consider any increase made or proposed to be made by an authority in the remuneration of any of their employees.

• (2) An order under subsection (1)(b) above—

• (a) may make provision as to the constitution and membership of the body established; (b) may include provision as to the employment of staff and the remuneration and superannuation of the members and staff of the body; and

• (c) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (3) For the purpose of enabling them to carry out their functions under this section, the advisory body shall consult and seek information from authorities and, if requested to do so by the advisory body, the Secretary of State may give a direction to any such authority requiring them to furnish to the advisory body such information as may be specified in the direction relating to the remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment of such employees of the authority as may be so specified.

• (4) If it appears to the advisory body that an authority have fixed or propose to fix for any employee or class of employee of theirs a rate of remuneration which, having regard to any recommended levels of remuneration formulated on a national basis by representatives of local authorities and employees of local authorities, is greater than that which the advisory body consider appropriate for that employee or class of employees, they shall notify the authority concerned and recommend to them the rate of remuneration which should be paid to the employee or class of employees concerned.

• (5) If it appears to the advisory body that an authority to whom they have made a recommendation under subsection (4) above are not complying with that recommendation, then, after giving notice in writing to the authority concerned of their intention to do so, they may refer the matter to the Secretary of State; and on such a reference the Secretary of State, after consultation with such associations of local authorities and of employees of local authorities as he considers appropriate in relation to the employee or class of employees concerned, may give a direction to that authority requiring them, with effect from such date as may be specified in the direction (not being earlier than the date on which notice was given to them by the advisory body), to pay such employee or class of employees of theirs as was the subject of the recommendation and as may be so specified remuneration at the rate recommended by the advisory body under subsection (4) above and specified in the direction.

• (6) An authority to whom a direction is given under subsection (3) or subsection (5) above shall comply with the direction.

• (7) If at any time in the period of three months beginning on 1st April 1996 it appears to the advisory body that the remuneration paid at any time before that date to any employee or class of employees of an existing local authority was such that, if that authority had not ceased to exist, the advisory body would have made a recommendation to the authority under subsection (4) above or, having made such a recommendation before that date, would have referred the matter to the Secretary of State under subsection (5) above, they shall notify the Secretary of State and report to him the rate of remuneration which in their opinion should have been paid to the employee or class of employees concerned immediately before 1st April 1996 or such earlier date as may be specified in the report, being the date on which the employee or employees ceased to be employed by the local authority concerned.

• (8) On receiving a report under subsection (7) above the Secretary of State may, after such consultation as is specified in subsection (5) above, by order made by statutory instrument provide that, for the purposes of the provisions of this Act, or of any regulations made under section 24 of the Superannuation Act 1972 (compensation for loss of office etc.), relating to transfer of officers and compensation for loss of office, the employee or class of employees to whom the report relates and who are specified in the order shall be deemed to have been receiving, immediately before 1st April 1996 or such earlier date as may be specified in the report, remuneration at the rate stated in the report and specified in the order.

• (9) An order made under subsection (8) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (10) In this section—

• “authority” means an existing local authority and a new authority;

• “existing local authority” includes a joint committee and a joint board but does not include an islands authority; and

• “new authority” means any of the authorities constituted under section 2 of this Act (other than Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Western Isles) and a joint board.

• (11) The Secretary of State may not give a direction under subsection (5) above nor make an order under subsection (8) above after 31st March 1997.

Staff commission

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• (1) The Secretary of State shall, after such consultation, whether before or after the passing of this Act, as he thinks fit, by order establish a staff commission for the purpose of carrying out such functions in relation to the staff and staffing of authorities as he may consider appropriate.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, an order under this section may confer on the staff commission the functions of—

• (a) considering and keeping under review the arrangements for the recruitment of staff by new authorities and for the transfer in consequence of this Act or of any instrument made under it of staff employed by existing local authorities which cease to exist by virtue of Chapter 1 of this Part of this Act;

• (b) considering such staffing problems arising out of, in consequence of or in connection with any provision of or instrument made under this Act as may be referred to them by the Secretary of State or by any authority;

• (c) advising the Secretary of State as to the steps necessary to safeguard the interests of such staff; and

• (d) advising authorities, either by the commission or by persons nominated by them.