District of Skye and Lochalsh 1975 to 1996

Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of Scotland

Skye and Lochalsh (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach agus Loch Aillse) is one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region of Scotland. The Highland Council area ( Sgìre Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd in Gaelic, s̪g̊ʲiːɾʲə kɔ For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Local government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities consisting of Councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the The Highland Council area ( Sgìre Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd in Gaelic, s̪g̊ʲiːɾʲə kɔ The regions and districts of Scotland were established under the Local Government (Scotland Act 1973 as a two-tier system of Local government in Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The main offices of the Skye and Lochalsh district council were in Portree, on the Isle of Skye. Portree ( Scottish Gaelic: Port Rìgh, the King's port is the largest Town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland Skye or the Isle of Skye ( Scottish Gaelic An t-Eilean Sgitheanach əɲ tʰʲelan s̪kʲiə

As statutory local government areas, the region and districts were created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and abolished in 1996, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. The Local Government (Scotland Act 1973 (1973 c 65 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland The Local Government etc (Scotland Act 1994 (1994 c 39 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government The area of the region is now the Highland unitary council area, and the former Kyle and Lochalsh district is within the Highland Council's Ross, Skye and Lochaber corporate management area. See also Independent city A unitary authority is a type of Local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all Local government functions For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Highland Council Management areas 1996 to 2007 For lists of wards see Highland Council wards 1995 to 1999 and Highland Council Highland Council Management areas 1996 to 2007 For lists of wards see Highland Council wards 1995 to 1999 and Highland Council

The 1973 legislation abolished local government counties and burghs throughout Scotland and created a new system of nine two-tier regions and three islands council areas. The counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975 A Burgh (ˈbʌʀə is an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a Town. There were three islands council areas of Scotland: Orkney Shetland Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles Each region consisted of a number of districts and the islands areas were created as unitary council areas. The Skye and Lochash district of the Highland region was created by merging a district of the former county of Inverness (the Skye district, consisting of the Skye group of Inner Hebridean islands) with a district of the former county of Ross and Cromarty (the South West district, consisting of an area around and including the village of Lochalsh). Inverness-shire also known as the county of Inverness or Siorrachd Inbhir Nis in Gaelic, was a general purpose county of Scotland, Skye or the Isle of Skye ( Scottish Gaelic An t-Eilean Sgitheanach əɲ tʰʲelan s̪kʲiə The Inner Hebrides ( Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a-staigh - the inner isles is an Archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south Ross and Cromarty Committee area (1996-date Ross and Cromarty lieutenancy area (1996-date Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Scottish Gaelic Caol Loch Aillse, "strait of the foaming lake" is a village on the northwest coast of Scotland

The 1994 legislation abolished regions and districts and established a system of 32 unitary council areas covering the whole of Scotland, and all of the Highland districts were merged into the new unitary Highland council area.

In 1996 the new Highland Council adopted the areas of the former districts as council management areas, and created area committees to represent them. Highland Council Management areas 1996 to 2007 For lists of wards see Highland Council wards 1995 to 1999 and Highland Council Many large Local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees, with responsibility for services in a particular part of the The Skye and Lochalsh management area then consisted of six out of the 72 wards of the council area, each electing one councillor by the first past the post system of election. In Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, a ward is an Electoral district A councillor or councilor ( Cllr, Coun, Clr or Cr for short is a member of a Local government council such as a In 1999 ward boundaries were redrawn to create 80 new wards. Management area boundaries were not redrawn, however, and therefore area committees ceased to represent exactly the areas for which they were named and made decisions. The Skye and Lochalsh committee continued to have six members.

Ward boundaries were redrawn again this year, 2007, and the council's eight management areas were abolished in favour of three new corporate management areas, including the Ross, Skye and Lochaber area which absorbed the former Skye and Lochalsh area. The Highland council area now has 22 wards and each elects three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, a system designed to produce a form of proportional representation. Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes The total number of councillors remains the same. The Ross, Skye and Lochaber area consists of six out of the 22 wards and these ward elect 23 of the 80 Highland councillors.

There is also a Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster), but its boundaries are not exactly those of the council corporated management area. Ross Skye and Lochaber is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ( Westminster) The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The constituency was created in 2005 with boundaries based on those of wards in use during the period 1999 to 2007.

The Skye group of islands is now a ward named as the Eilean a' Cheò ward, which elects four councillors. Lists of wards created in 2007 Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross wards The Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area consists of seven wards The Lochalsh area is now within the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh ward, which also elects four councillors. Lists of wards created in 2007 Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross wards The Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area consists of seven wards

District coat of arms

Coat of arms of Skye and Lochalsh District Council

The Skye and Lochalsh District Council coat of arms, granted by Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1987, featured a wavy blue fess across the centre of the shield for the Kyle of Lochalsh. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility Above this were emblems for the three main historic families of the Isle of Skye (Macleod of Macleod, Macdonald of Sleat and Mackinnon) and below it a stag's head from the arms of Mackenzie of Kintail for the Lochalsh area. Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan. The Gaelic form is Clann Mhic Leòid. The MacDonalds of Sleat are a branch of the Clan Donald or MacDonald Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire. The gold coronet above the arms was a special pattern reserved for the arms of Scottish district councils, and was topped by thistle-heads. ^[1]

See also

• Subdivisions of Scotland

References

1. ^ R. For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as M. Urquhart, Scottish Civic Heraldry, Hamilton, 2001