District Councils (1930-1975)
District councils were formed under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, which abolished parish councils and the previous system of district committees within counties.[1] This transferred the functions and powers of the abolished parish councils to district councils and permitted county councils to delegate additional responsibilities to district councils under a scheme of delegation. These might include the letting of houses, the upkeep of cemeteries and local parks, maintenance of war memorials, and, until 1948, the poor law. District councils also administered special districts or committees responsible for certain functions such as scavenging or water supply, financed by additional rates.
County councils (apart from Kinross and Nairn) were required to submit a scheme for setting up district councils to the Secretary of State for Scotland by February 1930. District councils were composed partly of directly elected district councillors and partly of the county councillors from electoral divisions within the district.[2]
These district councils were abolished in 1975 and many of their functions were transferred to new district councils, which shared the same name but had different powers and wider responsibilities.[3]
Surviving records of these district councils are usually found with the records of county councils in local authority archives services.
Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)
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References
[1] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c 25).
[2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c. 25) s.25.
[3] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65).