Politics of Edinburgh - The City of Edinburgh Council

The City of Edinburgh Council

The current Lord Provost of Edinburgh is Donald Wilson, who replaced George Grubb in May 2012. In Scotland the Lord Provost fulfils many similar roles to that of a Mayor in some other countries.

Elections to the Council are held every four/five years electing 58 councillors. The last elections took place in May 2012 and the next election is in May 2017. The Council is currently controlled by a Labour/Scottish National Party coalition. ===Full Council===

The City of Edinburgh Council is elected under proportional representation and there are 58 councillors in 17 multi-member wards. The Council meeting is made up of all the councillors elected to the City of Edinburgh Council.

The Full Council meets once a month on a Thursday, except during recess and holiday periods, and is chaired by the Lord Provost.

The Full Council retains responsibility for a range of functions including:

• Electing the Leader, Deputy Leader, Lord Provost and Deputy Leader of the Council;
• Appointing Committees of the Council
• Appointing of the Chief Executive, Chief Officers, members of Committees, joint boards and outside bodies;
• Setting council rules, bye-laws, regulations and standing orders;
• Setting the council tax, annual council budget and administering the city's capital investment programme.

In September 2012, The City of Edinburgh Council introduced a new committee system.

In addition to the full council this includes:

• Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee
• 7 Executive Committees with Policy Development and Review Sub-Committees
• Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee
• Petitions Committee