Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland

Legislation
Our work
We were established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Since being passed, the Act has been amended by various pieces of legislation. Our duties and powers with respect to local government boundaries are detailed in Section 12 to 28 of the 1973 Act. The text of the relevant sections of the 1973 Act, incorporating current amendments, can be downloaded as a PDF file from here.
The 1973 Act specifies that Scottish Ministers may direct us on various matters. A Direction is currently in force for us not to undertake reviews under section 14(1) of the Act in the period to 31 March 2012.
We have a function to advise Scottish Ministers on electoral wards for elections to Health Boards, following the passage of the Health Boards (Membership and Elections) (Scotland) Act 2009 which amended the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. The text of the relevant schedule of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 can be downloaded as a PDF file from here.
Current boundaries
Scotland is divided into 32 local authority areas as a result of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. An explanation of the boundaries of these local authority areas, including the relevant legislation, can be downloaded as a PDF file from here.
Each local authority area is divided into electoral wards, and a spreadsheet listing those wards is available from here. These wards were defined by Scottish Statutory Instruments in 2006 following our Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements.
Regulations
Ministers have made Regulations under section 24 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 making provisions concerning the implementation of orders arising from our reviews of local authority areas: the Local Government Area Changes (Scotland) Regulations 1977 can be downloaded as a PDF file from here.
Our use of the electoral register is governed by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001. The current text of the relevant parts of the regulations can be downloaded as a PDF file from here.

Legislation