ABSTRACT
Scotland's new local government system came into operation on 1 April 1996. It replaced the two-tier system of regions and districts with 32 unitary authorities, reducing the number of authorities from 65. The 1970s reorganisation of local government reflected the political consensus in favour of public provision and service development under democratic control, in the context of a more complex urban society in which strategic planning was deemed important. Local government was subject to both financial controls and some compulsory competitive tendering requirements for service provision, but the enabling model of local government was only really high on the agenda after 1987. Local government is now entering a further period of uncertainty. There is a new labour Government, and the prospect of a devolved Parliament, which suggests further reconsideration of structure, functions and funding will occur. Whether this will reverse the decline in the scope of local government remains a matter of conjecture.
