There are 32 Local Authorities in Scotland.

This tier of local municipal government is elected for a four-year term, the next elections being due in 2007. A major re-organisation of local government took place in Scotland and Wales in 1996 which created the 32 "unitary" authorities and made a number of boundary changes.

Local governments in the United Kingdom consist of officers (employed officials which do not change during elections) and councillors (elected members usually belonging to one of the recognised political parties). Scotland has retained a number of political and legal practices in its local democratic processes which have been preserved since the time of the Act of Union with England in 1707 and before. However the main features of Scotland's municipal government are similar to those of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The employed officers of the Council are headed by a Chief Executive, who oversees a number of departmental heads (sometimes called "services"). The elected members are (usually) led by the leader of the largest single political grouping in the Council, who is titled the "Leader of the Council". In addition to this political leader, all Councils also have a civic leader, usually called the Provost (or Lord Provost in the case of the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee) who acts as a ceremonial figurehead, first citizen and principal representative of the Council at a local, national and international level. Provosts are also the Convener or Chairman/Speaker of the Council.

The creation of The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive brought in a new relationship between the municipal governments and the national tier of goverment devolved from London. Reform of Scottish local democracy has been a major feature the Parliament's first years of existence. In 2004, for example, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act introducing a "Single Transferable Vote" system for future Scottish local elections, breaking with the "first past the post" system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Changes in the management and planning procedures of local authorities have also been introduced in The Local Government of Scotland Act, passed by the Scottish Parliament in its 2003 session. Under the provisions of this legislation, it is the duty of local authorities to undertake "community planning". The Act gives "local authorities power to do things which they consider will advance well-being". Each Local Authority has developed a local Cultural Strategy as part of these community planning responsibilities, but as these are often incorporated into a larger Community Strategy, which usually includes objectives and action plans in other areas (such as community development, enhancement of economic status, education and lifelong learning, social welfare issues etc.) local government support for the arts (and funding) is frequently presented in terms of a cross-sectoral, social inclusion agenda.

The first formal local government re-organisation occurred in Scotland in 1889, when county councils were introduced. Prior to that date Scotland (like most of the United Kingdom) had used traditional and historic divisions for its local government entities, many of which dated back to the first millennium CE. Hence it is common to find references made in cultural and historical sources to the now 'vanished' counties of Peeblesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire or Selkirkshire, for example, which can cover several unitary local authorities at once. Several counties, such as Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire and Aryshire have been subdivided into subregions, and some cities, such as Dundee and Aberdeen, are now unitary authorities in their own right, separate from the surrounding councils of Fife and Aberdeenshire respectively.

Most Scottish local authorities have an 'arts department' or 'arts service' usually as part of a larger Leisure or Recreation department or service. Local Authorities in the UK as a whole are well-known for their bureaucracy, an image which they have tried to shake off in recent years. It can prove very difficult to identify the correct person to speak to within a complex municipal government structure, so persistence is the key: if Scottish residents often have difficulty finding the right person, the problem must be even worse for overseas enquirers.

Many of the local authorities directly support and fund arts events, festivals, museums and heritage projects and often view these as 'cultural', 'tourism' and 'regional promotion' activities. These activities are also seen as 'advancing well being'. Interest in the creative industries is high among local government, especially as many of the major cities of Scotland have lost their heavy industry or dockyard economies and now have large, empty warehouse and factory spaces available for small businesses to use. An example of how Scottish cities have embraced this agenda of regeneration through culture is Glasgow, which as European City of Culture in 1990 transformed its image and a large part of its economy to become the very model of a creative and artistic civic hub.

Local authority support for the arts and culture was considerably curtailed in the 1990s with the local government reorganisations. There is still a strong tradition of local support to arts and cultural organisations and the financial resources provided by local government are significant. There are, for example, 140 non-national museums directly operated by the 32 local authorities of Scotland.

Local government in Scotland is represented by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA).

Scotland's National Cultural Strategy places the responsibility of ensuring high quality ('Best Value') in cultural provision on the individual Local Authorities. The evaluation of users' views is an important factor in determining the quality of the cultural provision. In its Guidance for Local Authorities on the implementation of the National Cultural Strategy, the Scottish Executive states 'Effective planning of cultural provision needs to be based upon good management information. Routinely-available information on service provision is essential, including data on: the volume of services provided; the number/categories of service users; the cost of provision; and gaps and needs. This information is needed by local authorities whether they provide the services directly, commission them externally or provide them in partnership.' (Para 5.2.2.)

International exchange is also specifically mentioned in the Guidance - 'local-national partnerships between local authorities and national cultural bodies are important for cultural provision because they can result in bringing work of an international standard to audiences throughout Scotland, and therefore widen access.' (Para 4.2.4.)

Furthermore: 'Through partnerships with other bodies, local authorities are able to contribute to, and benefit from, international culture. They do so in a number of ways, including: town twinning [see below]; school exchanges and contacts by young people’s groups; exchanges of cultural bodies (e.g. in sport, arts); festivals (e.g. major festivals such as the Edinburgh International Festival); linking with the overseas activities of regional and national bodies (e.g. VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise, British Council Scotland).

'In turn, local authority support helps national and regional bodies to flourish — which helps them take culture (including Scottish culture) overseas. National and regional bodies based in Scotland, can also present culture from overseas. That way, cultural variety and creative exchange can be promoted by the actions of local authorities.

'The Scottish International Forum is a grouping of about 30 (mainly public sector) organisations, including CoSLA and Scottish Local Authority Economic Development (SLAED), all having a significant interest in promoting Scotland overseas. Through a shared secure website, and through plenary meetings, Forum members exchange information on their strategic priorities in Europe and beyond. The Forum has started the process of developing a framework for possible integrated promotional activity over the next 2/3 years, in particular regions in Europe, the US and elsewhere. This approach aims to deliver a timed "critical mass" of Scotland-related activity in a particular target region. Local authorities which are developing cultural, economic or educational projects overseas may wish to consult the Forum, through CoSLA and/or SLAED, to assess whether their plans might be enhanced by being linked with related activities being undertaken by other Forum members.

'Local authorities should therefore, in preparing their cultural strategies and plans, discuss the following questions and, where possible, bring forward proposals: what scope is there for partnerships with national and regional "provider" bodies?; how can these best address local needs (e.g. for access)? ;how do local plans relate to the local tourism strategy?; what opportunities are there for supporting international cultural exchange?; might collaboration with cultural bodies add value to local authorities’ (non-cultural) international projects?; [and] will joint working with another local authority or authorities help create opportunities?' (Paras 4.3.7-4.3.10)

Town-Twinning was developed in Europe after the Second World War as a way to bring European people into a closer understanding of each other (known as Sister Cities in North America). In recent years there has been more dynamic activity in twinning relationships, with towns in Scotland, and throughout the UK, making relationships within and beyond Europe with other towns and cities of a similar economic and demographic make up. These relationships provide a potentially good platform on which to build cultural exchange activities, particualrly as they are often eligible for local authority financial and political support. Edinburgh for example is twinned with Dunedin, New Zealand; Florence, Italy; Kiev, Ukraine; Munich, Germany; Nice, France; San Diego, USA; Vancouver, Canada; and Xian, China. Glasgow, in turn, is twinned with Turin, Italy; Nuremberg, Germany; Rostov-on-Don, Russia; Dalian, China; and Havana, Cuba.