Dumfries and Galloway is the third largest region in Scotland. It covers 2,380 square miles and has an estimated population of 148,060 - that's around 60 people a square mile compared with the Scottish average of 168.

People live mainly in small communities of 4,000 or less or in the countryside. The biggest town is Dumfries with an estimated population of 31,630, followed by Stranraer with an estimated population of 10,290 and Annan with 8,430 people.

More detailed demographic information is available from the National Records of Scotland.

The Politics

The Council is led by an Administration formed by the Conservatives and Scottish National Party.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has Councillors and Democracy. Since the May 2012 elections, the Council has five political groups:

• Independents (5 Members)
• Scottish Conservative and Unionists (15)
• Scottish Labour Party (14)
• Non Aligned (2)
• Scottish National Party (10)

Note: Colin Wyper is an Elected Member of Dumfries and Galloway Council but is not affiliated with any politicial grouping.

There is a strong commitment to making decisions as locally as possible and as openly as possible and all Agendas, Committee Reports and Minutes are posted on this website before the meetings are held.

The Organisation

Our Council has a clear vision:

"to make Dumfries and Galloway the best place in Scotland to live, learn, work, visit and grow."

It also has a set of values that underpin all its work. These are:

• Customer First
• Continuous improvement
• Equality and diversity
• Local decision making and service delivery
• Openness and communication
• Team work and partnership
• Trust and honesty

They work to achieve that by delivering the actions in the Community Plan for Dumfries and Galloway the Corporate Plan for the Council and the Single Outcome Agreement with the Scottish Government.

The Council delivers its services through five departments with a staff of just under 8000 people.  Also included within the Council are the Police and Fire and Rescue Service.  For more information go to Council Departments.