Bloated sector
ASIDE of the apathy that surrounded the council elections was the reminder of the sheer number and duplication of local authorities. For a country of five million to have 32 separate bodies is typical of the bloated public sector in Scotland. The case for Ayrshire and Lothians to have three each, Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire to have two and the anachronism of tiny Moray and Clackmannanshire to have their own among others is all ripe for consolidation.