Boundary Review
North Ayrshire Council · 5 November 2025
Back to North Ayrshire Council — 5 November 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 5 November 2025 North Ayrshire Council Title: Boundaries Scotland: Second Review of Scottish Parliamentary Boundaries – Conclusion of Review Purpose: To advise Council of the conclusion of Boundaries Scotland’s Second Review of Scottish Parliamentary Boundaries. Recommendation: That Council notes: i) the conclusion of the Review of Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies and Regions, including the impact on the North Ayrshire Area; ii) that the new boundaries will take effect at the next Scottish Parliamentary Election scheduled for Thursday 7 May 2026; and iii) that the Electoral Registration Officer will make any necessary amendments to the Register of Electors. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Boundaries Scotland published its final report for constituency and regional boundaries for the Scottish Parliament which was submitted to the Minister for Parliamentary Business on 30 April 2025 and approved on 15 October 2025. The new constituencies and regions will come into force at the next scheduled Scottish Parliamentary Election which is scheduled for Thursday 7 May 2026. 1.2 Cunninghame North constituency will remain unchanged; however, Cunninghame South constituency will incorporate areas which are currently in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency, namely Stewarton and Dunlop. The Polling Places in Stewarton and Dunlop will be administered by North Ayrshire Council for Scottish Parliamentary elections. 1.3 The revised boundaries for the West of Scotland Region now include Stewarton and Dunlop which will form part of the new Cunninghame South Constituency. These areas were previously within the South Scotland Regional Constituency. The West Scotland Region includes Clydebank and Milngavie; Cunninghame North; Cunninghame South; Dumbarton; Eastwood; Inverclyde; Paisley; Renfrewshire North and Cardonald; Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley; Strathkelvin and Bearsden Constituencies. 1.4 Council is recommended to note the proposals which will ensure that the entirety of the new Cunninghame South constituency is incorporated into the West Scotland regional constituency. 2. Background 2.1 Boundaries Scotland is an independent advisory non-departmental public body responsible for reviewing and making recommendations for constituencies and regions of the Scottish Parliament; the number of councillors on each council in a local government
Page 2
area; the number of wards for local government elections and their boundaries; and the extent of council areas. 2.2 Boundaries Scotland is distinct from the Boundary Commission for Scotland which is a separate body responsible for reviewing the boundaries of the UK Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland. 2.3 The Second Review of Scottish Parliamentary Boundaries was required by the Scotland Act 1998. The previous review was in 2010 and the existing constituencies and regions remained unchanged since 2011. Since the review in 2010 there has been significant change to the electorate, including the extension of the franchise for Scottish Parliamentary elections to those aged 16 years and over as well as changes within the population. 2.4 The Council has supported Boundaries Scotland in publicising their proposals via press releases, sharing these via our corporate and community social media channels as well as displaying the proposals in public facing offices. Links to the consultation have also been shared with Community Councils. 2.5 The approved recommendations of Boundaries Scotland are that the new Cunninghame South Constituency will be as shown on the plan annexed at appendix 1. This recommendation was noted by Council in June 2024. This change means that Stewarton and Dunlop, previously part of the East Ayrshire administered Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Constituency, will now fall within the Cunninghame South Constituency and be administered by North Ayrshire for the purposes of Scottish Parliamentary elections from 7 May 2026. 2.6 There are no changes to Cunninghame North Constituency as shown on the plan annexed at appendix 2. 2.7 The rules governing the boundary setting process for regions state that “a constituency must fall wholly within a region”. For this reason, the area has been incorporated into the new Cunninghame South Constituency and will also be included in the West Scotland Region. The new West Scotland Region is shown on the plan attached at appendix 3. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Council notes: i) the conclusion of the Review of Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies and Regions approved by the Scottish Parliament, including the impact on the North Ayrshire Area; ii) that the new boundaries will take effect at the next Scottish Parliamentary Election scheduled for Thursday 7 May 2026; and iii) that the Electoral Registration Officer will make any necessary amendments to the Register of Electors. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 None Human Resources 4.2 None
Page 3
Legal 4.3 Cross boundary arrangements have been put in place with East Ayrshire Council for the conduct of the Poll/Count for the revised constituencies of Cunninghame South and West Scotland Region. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None arising from this report. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None arising from this report. Key Priorities 4.6 Supporting an effective boundary review directly links to our key priorities of Communities and Local Democracy as well as a Sustainable Council. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None arising from this report. Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 4.8 None arising from this report. United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 4.9 None arising from this report. Consumer Duty 4.10 None arising from this report. 5. Consultation 5.1 Boundaries Scotland have held a full consultation exercise in terms of the Scotland Act 1998. The proposals from this review have been published in our front-line offices and online via press releases. Aileen Craig Head of Service (Democratic Services) For further information please contact Tracy O’Hara, Elections Manager, on 01294 324042. Background Papers Boundaries Scotland’s full proposals are available at Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries
Page 4
Appendix 1
Page 5
Appendix 2
Page 6
Appendix 3