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Orkney Islands Council
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Council logo
Leadership
Convener	Graham Bevan, Independent since 17 May 2022
Leader	Heather Woodbridge, Independent since 20 February 2024
Chief Executive	Oliver Reid since January 2023
Structure
Seats	21 councillors
Results of the 2022 election:
Political groups	Independent (19)   Greens (2)
Length of term	Full council elected every 5 years
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	2027
Motto
Boreas domus mare amicus (Latin: "The north our home, the sea our friend")
Meeting place
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, KW15 1NY
Website
www.orkney.gov.uk

The Orkney Islands Council, is the local authority for the Orkney Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of 1996.

It provides services in the areas of environmental health, roads, social work, community development, organisational development, economic development, building standards, trading standards, housing, waste, education, burial grounds, port and harbours and others. The council collects Council Tax.

The council is also the harbour authority for Orkney and its marine services division manages the operation of the islands' 29 piers and harbours.

History

Orkney had been administered by Commissioners of Supply from 1667 and then by Orkney County Council from 1890 to 1975. The county council was abolished in 1975 and replaced by the Orkney Islands Council, which also took over the functions previously exercised by Orkney's lower-tier authorities, being the town councils of the two burghs of Kirkwall and Stromness, and the councils of the area's landward districts. The new council created in 1975 was an islands council of an area legally called Orkney.

Further local government reform in 1996 introduced single-tier council areas across all of Scotland. The councils of the three island areas created in 1975, including Orkney, continued to provide the same services after 1996, but their areas were re-designated as council areas. The geographic area's legal name was changed from Orkney to 'Orkney Islands' as part of the 1996 reforms, allowing the council to retain the name 'Orkney Islands Council'. The council has been a member of the Islands Forum since 2022.

Political control

The first election was held in 1974, with the council initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A majority of the seats on the council have been held by independent councillors since 1975.

Leadership

Political Leaders

In February 2024, Heather Woodbridge was announced as the new leader for the council. She is the first woman to lead the Orkney Islands Council, and at 29 years old is the youngest local authority leader in Scotland.

Conveners

Composition

Following the 2022 election, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 21 councillors representing 6 wards, with each ward electing three or four councillors. Elections are held every five years.

Wards

• East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray
• Kirkwall East
• Kirkwall West and Orphir
• North Isles
• Stromness and South Isles
• West Mainland

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on School Place in Kirkwall. The building comprises the former Kirkwall Grammar School and the neighbouring former Paterson Church, with modern extensions linking the older buildings. The former Grammar School was built c. 1890 and converted to become the council's offices in 1978. The Paterson Church, or East Church, was built in 1847 and converted and incorporated into the council offices in the early 2000s.

See also

• Constitutional status of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles
• Lerwick Declaration

References

1. Eichler, William (21 February 2024). "Orkney names Scotland's youngest council leader". localgov.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
2. Council, orkney.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
3. Marine Services, orkneyharbours.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
4. "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 17 April 2023
5. "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 17 April 2023
6. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
7. "Orkney Islands Council leader James Stockan to step down". BBC News. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
8. "Orkney appoints Scotland's youngest council leader". BBC News. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
9. "Local Government Election – 5 May 2022". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
10. "Orkney Islands". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
11. Scottish Parliament. The Orkney Islands (Electoral Arrangements) Regulations 2021 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
12. "Council move in". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 25 March 1978. p. 23. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
13. Historic Environment Scotland. "School Place, Orkney Islands Council Offices, formerly Kirkwall Grammar School, including boundary walls (Category B Listed Building) (LB36809)". Retrieved 13 July 2023.
14. Historic Environment Scotland. "School Place, Paterson Church / East Church, including boundary walls and railings (Category B Listed Building) (LB46013)". Retrieved 13 July 2023.

v t e Council elections in Orkney
Orkney Islands Council	1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 2022

v t e Local government areas of Scotland, in use 1975 to 1996
Borders	Berwickshire Ettrick and Lauderdale Roxburgh Tweeddale
Central Region	Clackmannan Falkirk Stirling
Dumfries and Galloway	Annandale and Eskdale Nithsdale Stewartry Wigtown
Fife	Dunfermline Kirkcaldy North East Fife
Grampian	Aberdeen Banff and Buchan Gordon Kincardine and Deeside Moray
Highland	Badenoch and Strathspey Caithness Inverness Lochaber Nairn Ross and Cromarty Skye and Lochalsh Sutherland
Lothian	East Lothian Edinburgh Midlothian West Lothian
Strathclyde	Argyll and Bute Bearsden and Milngavie Strathkelvin Clydebank Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Cumnock and Doon Valley Cunninghame Dumbarton East Kilbride Eastwood Glasgow Hamilton Inverclyde Kilmarnock and Loudoun Kyle and Carrick Clydesdale Monklands Motherwell Renfrew
Tayside	Angus Dundee Perth and Kinross
Island areas	Orkney Shetland Western Isles
The island areas were unitary authorities, combining the powers of a region and a district.

• Organisations based in Orkney
• Local authorities of Scotland
• Politics of Orkney
• Kirkwall