Falkirk Council is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District Council by way of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994. Prior to 1975 the majority of the Falkirk Council area was part of the county of Stirlingshire. Bo'ness and Blackness were part of the former county of West Lothian. The Falkirk Council area borders with North Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian, and, across the Firth of Forth to the northeast, Clackmannanshire and Fife.