Statutory Background

The Commissioners owe their origin to the Act 26 George III Cap 101 dated 1786 which appointed nineteen Commissioners to carry out the Act which stated in its preamble that "it would conduce greatly to the security of navigation and the fisheries if four lighthouses were erected in the northern parts of Great Britain". The Act gave the Commissioners the necessary powers to purchase land, levy dues and borrow funds. Further legislation widened the Commissioners' powers and they were given the power to erect lighthouses on the Isle of Man in 1854.

The Commissioners were incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1798 under the title "The Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses". This title was altered to its present form by the Merchant Shipping Act 1853.

Under Section 193 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses are appointed as the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and adjacent seas and islands and the Isle of Man, and under Section 195 are vested with responsibility for the superintendence and management of all lighthouses, buoys and beacons.

The Commissioners, within the area of jurisdiction for which they are the General Lighthouse Authority, have various powers and responsibilities in connection with the provision, maintenance, alteration, inspection and control of lighthouses, buoys and beacons, under Section 197 of the 1995 Act as amended. They also have Wreck Removal powers under Section 253 of the Act.

The Northern Lighthouse Board carries out the functions of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses who are constituted in terms of, and are given certain powers and duties by, Part VIII of and Schedules 8 and 9 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The subject matter of that Act is a reserved matter under Section 30 of and Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 and in terms of Section 29 of the Scotland Act 1998. The Board's affairs will continue to be subject to legislation passed by the United Kingdom Parliament. Ministerial responsibility will remain with the Department for Transport.

The Corporation of Trinity House (England, Wales, Channel Islands and Gibraltar), the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses (Scotland and the Isle of Man) and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (the whole of Ireland) are the General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) for the British Isles.

As the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man the Board has responsibility, subject to certain provisions, for the superintendence and management of “all lighthouses, buoys and beacons” throughout Scotland and the Isle of Man including “the adjacent seas and islands....” within and beyond territorial waters. In all, the Board provides over 400 physical aids complemented by a mix of radio navigation aids for the safety of all mariners engaged in general navigation irrespective of who pays for the service, the size or type of the vessel, her equipment fit, the competence of her crew, or her flag. 

GLF Reports and Accounts 2009