Scottish Ministers have made the Scottish Parliament (Disqualification of Councillors) Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/306), modifying the Scotland Act 1998. The instrument was made on 30 October 2025 and came into force on 31 October 2025. The substantive effects apply from the day of the poll at the first Scottish Parliament general election held after commencement, not immediately on 31 October.
The Regulations are made under sections 5 and 72 of the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 and were approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament. They are framed as modifications to primary legislation to clarify eligibility for membership of the Scottish Parliament and to regulate remuneration where limited dual office-holding is temporarily permitted.
Regulation 3 inserts a new ground of disqualification into section 15(1) of the Scotland Act 1998: a person is disqualified from being an MSP if the person is a councillor. For these purposes, “councillor” is defined as a member of a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The change standardises the position on dual mandates between local government and Holyrood.
Regulation 4 creates time‑limited exceptions to manage transitions. An MSP who is subsequently returned as a councillor is not disqualified for 49 days from the date they are returned as a councillor. This window allows the individual to resign one office or otherwise resolve the conflict without triggering immediate disqualification from the Scottish Parliament.
Where a councillor is subsequently returned as an MSP and, on the return day, the expected day of the next ordinary council election falls within 372 days, the individual is not disqualified as an MSP until the day of the poll at that council election. In practical terms, this permits a councillor elected to Holyrood late in a council term to serve in both roles until the ordinary council poll, after which the incompatibility must be resolved.
If the next ordinary council election is 373 days or more after the councillor is returned as an MSP, the grace period is 49 days from the MSP return day. In that case the individual must vacate one office within that period to avoid disqualification from the Scottish Parliament.
For clarity, the “return day” is the day on which the person is returned as an MSP. The “expected day of the next ordinary election of councillors” is the day for the poll fixed by or under sections 43 or 43A of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as that timetable stands at the beginning of the return day. This prevents later alterations to the council electoral timetable from retrospectively changing a person’s eligibility.
Regulation 5 addresses remuneration during the permitted overlap. From the next Holyrood general election, the Scottish Parliament must reduce an MSP’s salary by an amount equal to the basic councillor remuneration set under regulations made under section 11(1) of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, if councillor pay is also due for the same period. The reduction is pegged to the standard councillor rate, not the higher sums for a Leader of the Council, Civic Head or senior councillor.
The salary rule operates only where both MSP and councillor remuneration are payable for the same period and only once the wider disqualification regime begins at the next Scottish Parliament general election. As noted in the instrument, the current remuneration framework is set by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/183), subject to any subsequent amendments.
In effect, the package sets a clear default-no councillor may serve as an MSP-while providing short, defined windows to avoid disruption when election results create an overlap. Political parties, returning officers and payroll teams should plan for the 49‑day and 372‑day thresholds, ensure timely resignations where required, and apply the salary offset where an overlap is lawfully in place.
Because Regulations 3 to 5 take effect only from the day of the poll at the next Holyrood general election after 31 October 2025, any current dual office‑holders are unaffected until that date. From that poll onwards, the disqualification rule, transition periods and salary adjustment will apply as set out in SSI 2025/306.