48.This section provides that as soon as practicable following commencement the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland must undertake a review of the electoral arrangements for each of the six local authority areas named in subsection (2) – these are the areas currently containing inhabited islands as defined by section 1 of the Act.
49.Subsection (3) applies Part 2 of the 1973 Act, on the procedure for local government boundary reviews, to the review under subsection (1) – with the important modification that the Local Government Boundary Commission must submit its review findings to the Scottish Ministers by a date specified by Ministers, rather than according to the timescales set out in section 17(1) of the 1973 Act. Following this, Ministers will have the power under section 17(2) of the 1973 Act to make an order to implement the Commission’s proposals.
50.The effect of subsection (4) is that the specific review of island areas under subsection (1) will be discounted for the purposes of the general rolling 8-12 year timetable for the Commission’s reviews, prescribed under section 16(2) of the 1973 Act.