Between 1974 and 1996 (under the 1973 Local Government (Scotland) Act), most of Scotland had a two-tier system of local government, where 53 district councils were responsible for some functions and 9 regional councils were responsible for others. Three island areas - Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland - were governed by single-tier island authorities. New Town Corporations operated in five towns in the central belt (Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Irvine, and Livingston), and shared responsibility for services such as housing, planning, and economic development with regional and district councils in each area. From 1996 onwards, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, single-tier councils were created which inherited most of the functions of regional, district, and island councils. New Town Corporations were wound up between 1991 and 1996. Some services, such as water and sewerage, were removed entirely from local government, and other services, such as policing, are managed by joint arrangements.

Click on one of these for more detail:

regional councils
district councils
community councils
new town corporations
post-1996 councils
a list of regional and district councils 1974-1996

Survival and location of records
Of the island councils, Orkney and Shetland both set up archive services and these continue under the present councils. Enquiries regarding the records of Western Isles Council should be addressed to Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) Library Service. Records created by regional councils and district councils should, in theory, vest in the successor single-tier authorities, but the position, especially regarding regional council records, is complicated by the break up of several large regions, most notably Strathclyde (most of whose surviving records are held by Glasgow City Archives), Central (most of whose surviving records are held by Stirling Council Archives), and Grampian (most of whose surviving records are held by Aberdeenshire Archives).

1. Where can I see minutes of the meetings of a current local authority or its committees?

2. Where can I see minutes of the meetings of a regional or district council or its committees?

3. Where can I see a copy of Strathclyde Region's Strathclyde Structure Plan, or its component parts?

4. How can valuation rolls help me prove I was a council tenant for a number of years (for example, to claim a discount when purchasing a council house)?