EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations bring into force sections 2, 4 and 28 to 33 of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 (“the Act”), together with the Schedule of the Act, on 14 May 2021.
Section 2 of the Act includes provision for Scottish local government elections to be held every five years. Section 4 of the Act includes provision that local government electoral wards can comprise between 2 and 5 councillors. Sections 28 to 33 of the Act re-name the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland as Boundaries Scotland and confer powers on Boundaries Scotland to make proposals in relation to electoral areas and arrangements. The Scottish Ministers are then obliged to give effect to those proposals. Sections 28 to 33 also make a number of associated procedural changes. The Schedule of the Act makes a number of consequential amendments to various enactments.
The Bill for the Act received Royal Assent on 8 July 2020. Part 5 of the Act came into force on the following day.