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Grave concern at reduced Highland Council





Council Leader Margaret Davidson
Council Leader Margaret Davidson

The prospect of a shrunken Highland Council has been condemned by its leader.

Responding on Wednesday (September 14) to the approval of the Scottish Government to approve the Local Government Boundary Commission’s proposals to reduce the number of Councillors in Highland from 80 to 74, Councillor Margaret Davidson expressed her grave disappointment.

She said: "I wrote to the minister to advise him that there was considerable and widespread unease across local government over the way in which the commission has undertaken this review and asked him to pause it.

"It is very disappointing that these concerns have not been taken on board.

"In Highland we raised a number of issues of concern and suggested changes which were based on the rationale of maintaining current community ties, which would provide for better recognisable boundaries; insufficient weight being given to those wards with areas of deprivation; and the special geographical factors of the Highlands.

"Most of these proposals were not accepted. This will have a significant impact on how effectively communities will be represented across Highland and is a real erosion of democracy."

The commission published recommendations for changes to councillor numbers and ward boundaries in May, following completion of its fifth periodic review of local government electoral arrangements.

Changes were recommended for 30 of Scotland’s local authority areas, and the Scottish Government has accepted all but five, meaning changes will be made in 25 council areas.

Parliamentary Business Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: "Local government plays an important role in delivering key services across Scotland and it’s important for the sake of democracy and for local service delivery that councils are as representative as possible of the communities they serve.

"That’s why the Boundary Commission is legally obliged to hold regular reviews of council wards and councillor numbers, to ensure these reflect changes in population – this is the fifth such review since the Commission was created in 1973 and we are pleased to accept the vast majority of their recommendations.

"Our decisions will ensure updated electoral arrangements will apply for the local government elections in May next year, and I am confident these new structures will serve Scottish local government well in the years to come."


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