Falkirk (council area)

Falkirk (/ˈfɔːlkɜːrk/; Scots: Fawkirk; Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Bhreac) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central region created in 1975, which was abolished at that time. Prior to the 1975 reorganisation, the majority of the council area was part of the historic county of Stirlingshire, and a small part, namely Bo'ness and Blackness, was part of the former county of West Lothian.

Falkirk
Fawkirk
An Eaglais Bhreac
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Lieutenancy areaStirling and Falkirk
Admin HQFalkirk
Government
 • BodyFalkirk Council
 • ControlSNP minority (council NOC)
 • MPs
 • MSPs
Area
 • Total114.8 sq mi (297.4 km2)
 • RankRanked 22nd
Population
 (2021)
 • Total160,340
 • RankRanked 11th
 • Density1,400/sq mi (540/km2)
ONS codeS12000014
ISO 3166 codeGB-FAL
Websitewww.falkirk.gov.uk

The council area borders with North Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian, and, across the Firth of Forth to the northeast, Clackmannanshire and Fife. The largest town, and the location of the council headquarters, is Falkirk; other settlements, most of which surround Falkirk within 6 miles (9.7 km) of its centre, include Bo'ness, Bonnybridge, Denny, Grangemouth, Larbert, Polmont, Shieldhill, Camelon and Stenhousemuir.

The council is led by the SNP which gained 12 seats in the 2017 Council Election. The incumbent leader of is councillor Cecil Meiklejohn; the provost is Robert Bissett and the deputy provost is David Balfour.

Council political composition

The composition of Falkirk Council is as follows:[1]

Party Councillors
Scottish National Party 13
Labour 7
Conservative 7
Independent 3

Electoral wards
Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)

For the purposes of elections to Falkirk Council, the Falkirk area is divided geographically into a number of wards which then elect either three or four councillors each by the Single Transferable Vote system. The electoral system of local councils in Scotland is governed by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, an Act of the Scottish Parliament which first introduced proportional representation to councils. These electoral wards are as follows:

Budget

The council has faced issues and difficulties relating to its budget and spending over many years.[2][3][4] Most recently, in 2022, this included the need to reduce a shorfall of £69 million over the next four years that was identified in an independent audit by Ernst & Young.[5] This has resulted in reduced spending, job losses and the closures of public buildings.[6][7][8]

References
  1. "Local election results 2017 | Falkirk Council".
  2. "Falkirk budget gap 'will lead to cuts, job losses and council tax rises'". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. "Falkirk Council facing 'unprecedented' budget gap". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. "Falkirk schools warn of 'unprecedented cuts'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. "Falkirk Council: Auditors warn service cuts are inevitable due to huge £69m budget gap". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  6. "Calls for more public toilets as Falkirk area drops from 17 to one in 15 years". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  7. "Scots council could close 130 public buildings 'to avoid running out of money'". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  8. "School buses and crossing patrols in Falkirk Council's budget cuts firing line". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
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