The City of Edinburgh Council

The City of Edinburgh Council
The City of Edinburgh Council
	Full council election every 4 years.
	Coat of arms
	The City of Edinburgh Council logo
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Preceded by	City of Edinburgh District Council
Leadership
Council leader	Adam McVey, SNP ; Since 15 May 2017[1]
Depute Leader	Cammy Day, Labour ; Since 15 May 2017
Lord Provost of Edinburgh	Frank Ross, SNP ; Since 18 May 2017[2]
Structure
Seats	63
Political groups	Administration SNP (17) Labour (12) Other parties Conservative (17) Scottish Greens (8) Liberal Democrat (6) Independent (3)
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote
Last election	5 May 2017
Next election	5 May 2022[3]
Motto
	Nisi Dominus Frustra
Meeting place
	Edinburgh City Chambers
Website
	www.edinburgh.gov.uk

The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the City of Edinburgh. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Edinburgh district of the Lothian region.

History

Prior to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 Edinburgh was administered by the single tier "Edinburgh Corporation", which covered the "City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh". As such, the Edinburgh Corporation was responsible for local government services, such as the Edinburgh Corporation Transport Department (Edinburgh Corporation Tramways until 1928). The Edinburgh Corporation had the power to make Burgess (freemen) of the City of Edinburgh and to grant "Seals of Cause" to guilds and trade organisations. The Edinburgh Corporation awarded Burgess Ticket through the Lord Dean of Guild, an office in the Corporation. Like the Corporation of the City of London, Burgess Tickets were often awarded along with a 'Freedom Casket' – a container to hold the ticket. Bodies such as the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, the Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh and The High Constables of Edinburgh formed part of the corporation, contributing councillors and law enforcement officers. The Edinburgh Corporation had the power to institute these organisations via the granting of a "Seal of Cause". This empowered the societies as "a legal corporation with power to hold property, make its own by-laws and regulations". Other organisations to receive the "Seal of Cause" include The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, who received their seal on the 2nd July 1800.^[4] The history of the corporation lives on elsewhere around the city, for example in the name of the members of Muirfield golf club, who were granted a charter by the corporation in 1800 becoming "The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers". Many of Edinburgh's ceremonies and traditions date back to the days of the Edinburgh Corporation, such as the Edinburgh Ceremony of the Keys, where the Lord Provost symbolically hands the keys to the City of Edinburgh to the monarch, who hands them back to the Lord Provost proclaiming "that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and Councillors of my good City of Edinburgh".

In 1975, Edinburgh Corporation was abolished. The new two-tier system consisted of Lothian Regional Council (with responsibility for water, education, social work and transport) and the City of Edinburgh District Council (with responsibility for cleansing and libraries). The City of Edinburgh became a single-tier council area in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the City of Edinburgh district of the Lothian region. The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to include the former county of city of Edinburgh; the former burgh of Queensferry, the district of Kirkliston and part of Winchburgh formerly within the county of West Lothian; and the district of Currie and the parish of Cramond formerly within the county of Midlothian.

Powers and functions

The City of Edinburgh Council governs on matters of local administration such as:

Housing
Planning
Local transport
Parks
Local economic development
Urban renewal regeneration

The Council is also responsible for:

Appointing Committees of the Council
Appointing of the Chief Executive, Chief Officers, members of Committees, joint boards and outside bodies
Setting council rules, bye-laws, regulations and standing orders
Setting the council tax, annual council budget and administering the city's capital investment programme

The full Council meets once a month on a Thursday, except during recess and holiday periods, and is chaired by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

Policy Development and Review Sub-Committees

Each Executive Committee has a Policy Development and Review Sub-Committee. These sub-committees develop policy aided by witnesses who are invited to give evidence or provide their view on a particular policy. This approach aims to increase the public’s engagement with the democratic process and result in improved, more inclusive policies.

Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee

The Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee considers and scrutinises the financial and service performance of the Council, its companies and major projects. It also performs the audit function of the Council. The Convener of the Committee is an opposition Councillor.

Petitions Committee

The Petitions Committee allows a new method for individuals, community groups and organisations can get involved in what the Council does. It allows people to raise issues of public concern and gives Councillors the opportunity to consider the need for change. The Convener of the Committee is an opposition Councillor.

Planning and Regulatory Committees

The Planning Committee is principally concerned with issues of planning and development, including the granting of planning permission and street naming. The Regulatory Committee deals with issues such as health and safety and buildings in need of repair as well as determining individual applications for registration and licensing of food premises, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and other statutory powers. Membership of such committees reflects the party balance on the council.

Neighbourhood partnerships

In June 2007 the six local development committees in Edinburgh, one for each Scottish Parliamentary Constituency were replaced by neighbourhood partnerships.[2] Typically these combine the councillors from two council wards with representatives of community councils. Neighbourhood partnerships are tasked with dealing with issues that are specific to their local area and influencing the delivery of key council services including street cleaning, urban parks, libraries, local development, road maintenance, traffic and parking issues. Local committees meet several times each year.

External Committees

The Council also appoints elected members to serve on:

The Licensing Board
Lothian Valuation Joint Board

Elections

The last election to the council was held on Thursday, 4 May 2017.

Members of the council represent 17 electoral areas called wards. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, multi-member wards were introduced for the 2007 election, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, to produce a form of proportional representation. Previously each of 58 wards elected one councillor by the first past the post system of election.

Wards

Ward number	Ward name	Seats
1	Almond	4
2	Pentland Hills	4
3	Drum Brae/Gyle	3
4	Forth	4
5	Inverleith	4
6	Corstorphine/Murrayfield	3
7	Sighthill/Gorgie	4
8	Colinton/Fairmilehead	3
9	Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart	3
10	Morningside	4
11	City Centre	4
12	Leith Walk	4
13	Leith	3
14	Craigentinny/Duddingston	4
15	Southside/Newington	4
16	Liberton/Gilmerton	4
17	Portobello/Craigmillar	4

Electoral History

	Control	Administration
1972	No overall control	Progressive-Conservative minority
1973	No overall control	Conservative-Progressive minority
1974	No overall control	Labour minority
1977	Conservative	Conservative
1980	No overall control	Conservative minority (Liberal support)
1984	Labour	Labour
1988	Labour	Labour
1992	No overall control	Labour
1995	Labour	Labour
1999	Labour	Labour
2003	Labour	Labour
2007	No overall control	Lib Dem – SNP
2012	No overall control	Labour – SNP
2017	No overall control	SNP – Labour

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] ttp://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/2306/leaders_sign_coalition_agreement_to_run_the_capital

[2] ttps://www.theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2017/05/interview-with-the-new-lord-provost-at-city-chambers/

[3] ttp://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20033/elections_and_voting/258/upcoming_elections/

[4] ttp://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/oldest-golf-clubs-societies/1735-royal-burgess-golf-society/

Elections in Edinburgh
Edinburgh Corporation	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
City of Edinburgh District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992
Lothian Regional Council	1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994
City of Edinburgh Council	1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017
Referendums	2005

Edinburgh
History	Mary, Queen of Scots Greyfriars Kirk Burke and Hare Kingdom of Scotland Act of Union 1707 Parliament of Scotland David Hume Edinburgh Review Holyrood Abbey Treaty of Edinburgh Old Town New Town Robert Adam James Craig Church of Scotland Disruption of 1843 Thomas Aikenhead Deacon Brodie North British Railway Visit of King George IV Sir Walter Scott Edwin of Northumbria Devolution Burgh Lothian Edinburgh Stock Exchange Porteous Riots Tron riot Greyfriars Bobby
Governance	The City of Edinburgh Council Lord Provost of Edinburgh Scottish Parliament
Buildings and landmarks	Edinburgh Castle Holyrood Palace Scottish Parliament Building Forth Rail Bridge Forth Road Bridge Arthur's Seat Scott Monument St Giles' Cathedral Calton Hill National Monument Edinburgh International Conference Centre Parliament House Ross Fountain Princes Street Gardens Balmoral Hotel Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Victoria Quay Bute House St Andrew's House Craiglockhart Castle Old College New College Public art
Museums and galleries	Fruitmarket Gallery The Georgian House Museum of Edinburgh National Museum of Scotland Royal Scottish Academy Scottish National Gallery Our Dynamic Earth Royal Museum Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Theatres and concert halls	Bedlam Theatre Usher Hall Festival Theatre King's Theatre Edinburgh Playhouse Queen's Hall Reid Concert Hall Royal Lyceum Theatre St Cecilia's Hall Traverse Theatre
Economy	Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Park Edinburgh BioQuarter Caledonian Brewery Standard Life The Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Widows Ocean Terminal Fort Kinnaird
Transport	Edinburgh Airport Lothian Buses Edinburgh Waverley railway station Haymarket railway station Edinburgh Crossrail Trams Edinburgh City Bypass A1 road
Health and education	Schools Hospitals University of Edinburgh Heriot-Watt University Napier University Queen Margaret University Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College Moray House School of Education Scotland's Rural College
Festivals	Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh International Festival Hogmanay Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Edinburgh International Book Festival Edinburgh International Film Festival Edinburgh International Television Festival
Other topics	Geography of Edinburgh Beer in Edinburgh
Category