Highland Region, became an islands area, with the same status as Orkney and Shetland. The number of districts was to remain at 49 in number, but with considerable boundary changes. These were the areas included in the Local Government (Scotland) Bill as introduced to parliament in 1973. Considerable changes were made during the passage of the legislation. Fife, which was to have been divided between the South-East and East Regions, was to become a region on the same boundaries as the existing county. This increased the number of regions to nine. The number of districts was increased to 53, numerous boundary changes were made and regions and districts renamed. The first elections to the new district and regional councils were held on 7 May 1974, with the councillors sitting as "shadow authorities" until 16 May 1975 when they came into their powers. Structure Regions Regions had a two-tier system of local government, with each region divided into districts, varying from 3 to 19 in number. The top tier of local government was the regional council. Services provided at the regional level were those needing greater finance or resources, or best exercised over a wide area. These included police, fire services, consumer protection, education and transport. Each district had an elected district council. In the case of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the districts had city status, although this did not confer any additional powers. District councils had responsibility for local services including local planning, housing, libraries and licensing. Islands areas The islands areas were unitary local government areas, exercising the powers of both a regional and district council. Regions and islands areas Scotland was subdivided into regions and islands areas as follows: Districts Abolition The 1994 Act created 29 new unitary local government areas, which completely replaced the regions and districts on 1 April 1996. The islands council areas continued in use and, therefore, Scotland now has 32 council areas. See also List of burghs in Scotland Counties of Scotland Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Subdivisions of Scotland List of places in Scotland Local government in the United Kingdom Notes and references 1973 . Districts of Scotland History of local government in Scotland Scottish history-related lists