Highland Council Break-Up: Call for a referendum so public can decide amid questions over ‘effectiveness, accountability and local responsiveness’
Two councillors have tabled a motion calling for the biggest shake-up of local democracy in the Highlands since devolution - and they want the public to decide.
Ruariaidh Stewart and Barbara Jarvie are keen for the public to be balloted on whether to break-up the Highland Council into smaller, more responsive local authorities.
Their motion is to be decided at next week’s full council meeting with an advisory referendum proposed for the same day as the local government elections in 2027.
It comes, they say, amid questions if the council is fit for purpose over “the effectiveness, accountability and local responsiveness of the Highland Council in its current structure” following a series of high-profile failures going back years.
Prominently education attainment lags behind the national average on some scales; hundreds of staff claimed they felt bullied at work, and road repair funding falls far behind what is needed.
The council was left red-faced after admitting overpaying staff and ex-staff by £1.2 million and the Academy Street debacle was halted by Scotland’s highest court for being “unlawful” - the project cost taxpayers almost £714,000.
So it is a serious political challenge for an SNP-Highland Independent administration and comes after just five votes sank a bid simply to review how the region is governed despite widespread dissatisfaction in December last year.
At the same time, cross-party political pressure has been mounting.
Famously, one of Kate Forbes’ major pitches during her bid to lead the SNP was: “Let's start by breaking up Highland Council – you heard it here first.”
The Lib-Dems agreed a policy proposed by Highland councillor Andrew Baxter allowing councils to request their boundaries to be redrawn – party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “It is an idea whose time has come.”
Former Greens leader Patrick Harvie called for local government reform as councils had become “service delivery agencies” with too little decision-making powers.
And Building a Local Scotland group highlighted Highland Council as a prime example of what makes Scotland “one of the least locally governed countries in the world”.
Now Councillors Stewart and Jarvie have opened the door - for the second time in less than a year - to what many locals across the region have wanted for years.
They explained: “For many years there has been a growing debate about the effectiveness, accountability, and local responsiveness of the Highland Council in its current structure.
“Time and again, votes within this chamber on this issue have been close, reflecting both the strength of feeling and the absence of clear consensus among elected members.
“It is therefore right that this decision should not rest solely with councillors. The time has come for the public themselves to have their say on the future of how the Highlands are governed and taxpayers money is spent.”
The motion seeks political agreement on five points:
• To hold an advisory referendum on the future structure of local government in the Highlands.
• That the people of the Highlands be asked: Yes or No – “should the Highland Council be reorganised into smaller local authorities?”
• That ballot should take place alongside the next local government elections, to ensure maximum participation and to minimise additional costs.
• Results will be published on a ward-by-ward basis as well as for the Highlands as a whole.
• That officers be instructed to prepare the necessary arrangements and report back on the practical steps required to give effect to this advisory referendum.
But if those who are against change are looking for a reason to refuse, they may find it a report prepared by council officers which stated: “A financial assessment has been carried out in conjunction with input from the elections team and the estimated cost to the council would be in the region of £188,000-£631,000 based on assumptions.”