Perth and Kinross Council

Perth and Kinross Council is the local government council for the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland. It employs nearly 5000 employees.

The council was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, when the Tayside region was divided between three new unitary council areas: Perth and Kinross, Angus, and Dundee City.

The current Perth and Kinross council headquarters are located in Perth at the bottom of the High Street, near Tay Street, although many public enquiries and council services are handled from the nearby Pullar House.

Elections

General elections to the council are held on a four year cycle. The next is due in 2011. The most recent poll was held in 2007, on Thursday 5 May.

The 2007 general election was the first to use the single transferable vote system of election and multi-member wards, each ward electing three or four councillors. This system was introduced as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, and is designed to produce a form of proportional representation. The Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland is close to completing its final recommendations for new wards for all the council areas of Scotland.

At present, councillors represent 41 single-member wards, and are elected by the first past the post system of election.

Political composition

The council is controlled by a Scottish National Party/Liberal Democrat coalition as of May 2007. [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=783&id=770932007]

External links

* [http://www.pkc.gov.uk/ Council website]
** [http://www.perthshire.com/publicorganisations/Perth+and+Kinross+Council/Councillors/ Map of wards]
** [http://www.perthshire.com/publicorganisations/Perth+and+Kinross+Council/Councillors/List+of+Councillors/ List of councillors]