East Ayrshire Council

East Ayrshire Council (Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Shiorrachd Inbhir Àir an Ear) is the political body covering the East Ayrshire local authority created in 1995, comprising nine wards, each electing three of four local councillors through the single transferable vote system, creating a type of proportional representation.

East Ayrshire Council

Comhairle Shiorrachd Inbhir Àir an Ear
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of Arms
Logo
Council logo
Leadership
Jim Todd,
SNP
since 19 May 2022[1]
Douglas Reid,
SNP
since 17 May 2007[2]
Eddie Fraser
since January 2021[3]
Structure
Seats32
East Ayrshire Council composition
14 / 32
10 / 32
4 / 32
3 / 32
1 / 32
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Headquarters, London Road, Kilmarnock, KA3 7BU
Website
www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Overview

The council has been under no overall control since 2007, with the Scottish National Party leading a variety of minority administrations since then. The next election is due in 2027. The council's civic head takes the title of provost. This is a largely ceremonial role, chairing council meetings and acting as the area's first citizen. Although an elected councillor, the provost is expected to be politically impartial.[1] Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council, who has been Douglas Reid of the SNP since 2007.

The council's chief executive is Eddie Fraser, who took on the role in January 2021.[4]

The Governance and Scrutiny Committee of East Ayrshire Council is tasked with examining, scrutinising, challenging and asking questions relating to matters regards delivery of services by the Council, as well as having some powers over how the council conducts it's affairs and business.[5]

Committees of the council

East Ayrshire Council have a number of committees that support it's work in delivering services to the population of East Ayrshire. Some committees, such as the Ayrshire Shared Services Joint Committee, also have representatives from South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire attending.[6]

The current committees of East Ayrshire Council are;[7]

  • Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee
  • Ayrshire Economic Partnership
  • Audit and Performance Committee
  • East Ayrshire Council Executive Committee
  • Appeals Panel
  • Ayrshire Shared Services Joint Committee (with South Ayrshire Council and North Ayrshire Council)
  • Cabinet
  • Community Planning Partnership Board
  • Council
  • East Ayrshire Integration Joint Board
  • East Ayrshire Strategic Planning Group
  • Governance & Scrutiny Committee
  • Grants Committee
  • JCC Central
  • JNC for Teaching Staff
  • Licensing Forum
  • Local Government Licensing Panel
  • Local Review Body
  • Planning Committee
  • Police and Fire and Rescue Committee
  • Recruitment Panel

Political control

The first election to East Ayrshire Council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:[8]

Party in controlYears
Labour1996–2007
No overall control2007–

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1996 have been:[9]

Leaders of East Ayrshire Council
CouncillorPartyFromTo
David Sneller Labour1 Apr 19966 May 1999
Drew McIntyre Labour13 May 1999May 2007
Douglas Reid SNP17 May 2007

Elections

Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Election results since 1995 have been as follows:[8]

Year Seats SNP Labour Conservative Independent / Other Notes
19953082200Labour majority
199932141710New ward boundaries.[10] Labour majority
20033282310Labour majority
200732141431New ward boundaries.[11]
201232151421SNP / Conservative coalition
20173214962[lower-alpha 1]New ward boundaries.[12] SNP minority administration
202232141044[lower-alpha 2]SNP minority administration
  1. One being from The Rubbish Party
  2. One being from The Rubbish Party

Premises

The council's main offices are at Council Headquarters on London Road, Kilmarnock. The building was built as the James Hamilton School, which was designed by William Reid, the Ayrshire county architect, and opened in 1933.[13] The school relocated to a new site in 1977 and the buildings became the London Road Centre and were used for various purposes until they were converted to offices for East Ayrshire Council ahead of the new council's creation in 1996.[14][15]

Wards
Map of 2017 election results

Since 2017 the area has divided into nine multi-member wards returning 32 members:[12][16][17][18]

Ward
Number		 Ward Name Location Seats
1 Annick 4
2 Kilmarnock North 3
3 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse 4
4 Kilmarnock East and Hurlford 4
5 Kilmarnock South 3
6 Irvine Valley 3
7 Ballochmyle 4
8 Cumnock and New Cumnock 4
9 Doon Valley 3

See also

References
  1. "Provost and Depute Provost". East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  2. "Council minutes, 17 May 2007" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  3. Behan, Paul (22 January 2021). "East Ayrshire Council's new chief executive aims to help those hit hardest by Covid pandemic". Daily Record.
  4. "Eddie Fraser appointed as new Chief Executive - East Ayrshire Council News". 30 November 2020.
  5. https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/MVC/Committees/Services/Index/364/8
  6. https://docs.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/r/?f=https://docs.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CRPADMMIN/2012%20AGENDAS/MINUTES%20ON%20WEB/Ayrshire%20Shared%20Services%20Joint%20Committee%20-%209%20June%202023.pdf
  7. https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/mvc/committees
  8. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  9. "Council minutes". East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  10. "The East Ayrshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3246, retrieved 3 January 2023
  11. Scottish Parliament. The East Ayrshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  12. Scottish Parliament. The East Ayrshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  13. "Official Opening of James Hamilton Central School". Kilmarnock Herald. 23 February 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  14. "London Road School". Directory of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  15. "Contact East Ayrshire Council". Irvine Herald. 29 March 1996. p. 37. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  16. "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  17. 5th Reviews of Electoral Arrangements Maps, Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland
  18. Council Area: East Ayrshire, Scottish Government Statistics
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