Orkney Islands Council area - Review of Electoral Arrangements Public Consultation

Closed 2 Dec 2019

Opened 10 Sep 2019

Contact

Boundaries Scotland

0131 244 2001

boundaries.scot@scottishboundaries.gov.uk

Results updated 1 Jun 2021

Our final proposals for Orkney Islands Council area:

• retain the same number of councillors as the existing arrangements;
• retain three existing wards unchanged: North Isles; Stromness and South Isles; and West Mainland; and
• make changes to ward boundaries by Kirkwall. The boundary between Kirkwall East ward and Kirkwall West and Orphir ward is to be amended by Kirkwall harbour to create a more easily identifiable ward boundary and the Kirkwall East ward boundary is to be extended southwards to better reflect local ties by placing Kirkwall airport and neighbouring local communities within a Kirkwall ward.

Links:

Overview

We have conducted a Review of Electoral Arrangements for Orkney Islands Council area.

The Review recommended to Scottish Ministers the number of councillors and ward boundaries for Orkney Islands Council.

We held a public consultation from September until November 2019.

Why your views matter

One of the main reasons we undertake reviews is that the population, and therefore the electorate, of any local authority area is constantly changing, with migration into or out of areas as well as within the same area. As a result of these changes, some councillors may represent considerably more or fewer electors than other councillors in the same council area.

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced the use of one or two member wards where a ward containing an inhabited island, in addition to the current multi-member ward system. The Act requires us to review the six Councils containing inhabited islands, including Orkney Islands, as soon as possible.

We expect our recommendations, if accepted, to be in place for the next local government elections in May 2022.

What happens next

Thank you for your views. 

The Commission will consider all responses to the consultation as it develops its final recommendations for Scottish Ministers.

The recommendations, if accepted, will be in place for the next local government elections in May 2022.