Statutory review of polling places and boundaries

Review of Scottish parliamentary boundaries

Boundaries Scotland is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations for:

  • constituencies and regions for the Scottish Parliament
  • the number of councillors on each council in a local government area
  • the number of wards for local government elections and their boundaries
  • the extent of council areas

Second review of Scottish Parliament boundaries

The Second Review began in September 2022. It is required by the Scotland Act 1998. Boundaries Scotland must submit its report and recommendations to Scottish Ministers by 1 May 2025.

If the recommendations are approved by the Scottish Parliament, the new boundaries will apply at the next Scottish Parliament election, expected in May 2026.

What the review covers

Boundaries Scotland must review and make recommendations for:

  • 73 constituencies
  • 8 regions

Each region will continue to be represented by 7 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The total number of MSPs will remain at 129.

Public consultation

A further public consultation ran for one month from 24 January to 24 February 2025.

Highland Council area – constituency recommendations

The constituencies for Highland Council are unchanged from the Further Proposals stage. Boundaries Scotland has agreed to adopt the Further Proposals as its Final Recommendations, subject to satisfactory constituencies being designed in neighbouring areas.

Constituency maps

View constituency maps:

Highland Council area – regional recommendations

There is no change to the name of the Highlands and Islands region. Compared to the existing boundaries, there is a minor alignment of the ward boundary within the Moray Constituency.

Region map

From the Provisional Proposals, the Highlands and Islands region remains unchanged.

What the review does not affect

This review is only about electoral boundaries for the Scottish Parliament (constituencies and regions). It does not affect:

  • UK Parliament constituencies
  • local authority boundaries
  • community council boundaries
  • health board boundaries

For individuals, this review does not affect:

  • the council area in which they live
  • how they access local services

More information

You can find further details about the review on the Boundaries Scotland website.

Page last modified: 9 September 2025