Local Government Act 1972

Part I — Local Government Areas and Authorities in England

New local government areas

Constitution of principal councils in England.

1

• (1) For the administration of local government on and after 1st April 1974 England (exclusive of Greater London and the Isles of Scilly) shall be divided into local government areas to be known as counties and in those counties there shall be local government areas to be known as districts.

• (2) The counties shall be the metropolitan counties named in Part I and the non-metropolitan counties named in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act and shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to administrative areas existing immediately before the passing of this Act) in column 2 of each Part of that Schedule.

• (3) The districts in the metropolitan counties shall be those respectively specified in column 2 of the said Part I and shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to administrative areas existing immediately before the passing of this Act) in that column, and the Secretary of State may by order provide a name for any such district.

• (4) The districts in the non-metropolitan counties shall be those respectively specified in one or more orders made by the Secretary of State under paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to this Act and having the names given to them by one or more orders so made.

• (5) Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the boundaries of the new local government areas.

• (6) Subject to Part IV of Schedule 1 to this Act and to any provision corresponding to that Part made by an order under section 254 below, the rural parishes existing immediately before 1st April 1974 shall continue to exist on and after that date by the name of parishes.

• (7) The said Part IV shall have effect with respect to the existing rural parishes which by virtue of this Act are comprised in more than one county or more than one metropolitan district.

• (8) Part V of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of constituting parishes the boundaries of which are determined by reference to those of existing boroughs and urban districts and also, in cases where the areas of such boroughs and urban districts are divided by or under this section between two or more new districts, by reference to the boundaries of the new districts.

• (9) The boroughs which by virtue of section 141 of the 1933 Act or section 28 of the Local Government Act 1958 are included in rural districts immediately before the passing of this Act shall on the passing of this Act become parishes without ceasing to be boroughs, but shall cease to be boroughs on 1st April 1974.

• (10) On that date the following local government areas existing immediately before that date outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly, that is to say, all administrative counties, boroughs (except those in rural districts), urban districts, rural districts and urban parishes, shall cease to exist and the council of every such area which has a council shall also cease to exist.

• (11) On that date the municipal corporation of every borough outside Greater London (and the corporation of a borough included in a rural district) shall cease to exist.

• (12) In this section “England” does not include the administrative county of Monmouthshire or the county borough of Newport.

Principal councils

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• (1) For every non-metropolitan county there shall be a council consisting of a chairman and councillors and the council shall have all such functions as are vested in them by this Act or otherwise.

• (2) For every district there shall be a council consisting of a chairman and councillors and the council shall have all such functions as are vested in them by this Act or otherwise.

• (2A) Where a council mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive ..., the council shall consist of an elected mayor, a chairman and councillors.

• (2B) In such a case, a reference in this Act to a member of a council is a reference to—

• (a) the elected mayor of the council,

• (b) the chairman of the council, or

• (c) a councillor of the council.

• (3) Each council mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above shall be a body corporate by the name “The County Council” or “The District Council”, as the case may be, with the addition of the name of the particular county or district.

Members of principal councils

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• (1) The chairman of a principal council shall be elected annually by the council from among the councillors.

• (1A) A member of the executive of a principal council may not be elected as the chairman of the council.

• (2) The chairman shall, unless he resigns or becomes disqualified, continue in office until his successor becomes entitled to act as chairman.

• (3) During his term of office the chairman shall continue to be a member of the council notwithstanding the provisions of this Act relating to the retirement of councillors.

• (4) The chairman of a district council shall have precedence in the district, but not so as prejudicially to affect Her Majesty’s royal prerogative.

• (4A) Subsection (4) above shall have effect in relation to a district council which are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive . . . as if it provided for the elected mayor of the council to have precedence in the district, but this subsection shall not apply if the executive arrangements provide for it not to apply.

• (5) A principal council may pay the chairman for the purpose of enabling him to meet the expenses of his office such allowance as the council think reasonable.

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• (1) The election of the chairman shall be the first business transacted at the annual meeting of a principal council.

• (2) If, apart from section 3(3) above or section 5(2) below, the person presiding at the meeting would have ceased to be a member of the council, he shall not be entitled to vote in the election except in accordance with subsection (3) below.

• (3) In the case of an equality of votes the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any other vote he may have.

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• (1) A principal council shall appoint a member of the council to be vice-chairman of the council.

• (1A) A member of the executive of a principal council may not be appointed as the vice-chairman of the council.

• (2) The vice-chairman shall, unless he resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office until immediately after the election of a chairman at the next annual meeting of the council and during that time shall continue to be a member of the council notwithstanding the provisions of this Act relating to the retirement of councillors.

• (3) Subject to any standing orders made by the council, anything authorised or required to be done by, to or before the chairman may be done by, to or before the vice-chairman.

• (4) A principal council may pay the vice-chairman for the purpose of enabling him to meet the expenses of his office such allowance as the council think reasonable.

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• (1) Councillors for a principal area shall be elected by the local government electors for that area in accordance with this Act and Part I of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

• (2) For the purposes of the election of councillors—

• (a) every non-metropolitan county shall be divided into electoral divisions, each returning (subject to paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to this Act and subject to section 56(8) of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009and section 12(4) of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007) one councillor;

• (b) every metropolitan district shall be divided into wards, each returning such number of councillors as may be provided as mentioned in subsection (3) below;

• (c) every non-metropolitan district shall be divided into wards, each returning such number of councillors as may be provided as mentioned in subsection (3) below;

and there shall be a separate election for each electoral division or ward.

• (3) The number of councillors referred to in subsection (2)(b) or (c) above may be provided—

• (a) under or by virtue of the provisions of section 7 below;

• (b) by an order under Part 2 of the Local Government Act 1992 (c. 19) or Part 3 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009;

• (c) by an order under section 14 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 (c. 29);

• (d) by an order under Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

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• (1) The ordinary elections of county councillors shall take place in 1973 and every fourth year thereafter, their term of office shall be four years and they shall retire together in every such fourth year on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of county councillors, and in and after 1977 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

• (2) The ordinary elections of metropolitan district councillors shall take place in 1973, 1975 and every year thereafter other than 1977 and every fourth year thereafter.

• (3) Subject to paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to this Act, the term of office of metropolitan district councillors shall be four years and one-third of the whole number of councillors in each ward of a metropolitan district, being those who have been councillors for the longest time without re-election, shall retire in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in and after 1975 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (7) Where the Secretary of State receives a request under subsection (4)(b) above from a district council he may direct the Local Government Commission for England to conduct a review and make recommendations in the light of the request with respect to—

• (a) the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which the district should be divided and the number of councillors to be elected for each ward;

• (b) the order of retirement of councillors elected for wards not returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three;

and the provisions of Part II of the Local Government Act 1992 shall apply accordingly.

• (8) The ordinary elections of non-metropolitan district councillors shall take place—

• (a) except where an order is in force providing for the election of district councillors by thirds, in 1973, 1976, 1979 and every fourth year thereafter; and

• (b) where such an order is in force, in the year when the order comes into force and every year thereafter other than a year of election of county councillors.

• (9) The following provisions of this subsection shall, subject to the provisions of any order made under or by virtue of this section, have effect with respect to non-metropolitan district councillors:—

• (a) their term of office shall be three years in the case of the councillors elected at the ordinary elections in 1973 and 1976 and four years in the case of those elected at ordinary elections held thereafter;

• (b) except where an order is in force providing for the election of councillors by thirds, the whole number of councillors shall retire together in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in and after 1976 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire; and

• (c) where such an order is in force, one-third of the whole number of councillors in each ward returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three and, as nearly as may be, one-third of the whole number of the councillors in the other wards, being those who have been councillors of the district for the longest time without re-election, shall retire in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in every such year the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

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• (1) Sections 2 to 7 above shall not apply to . . . London borough councils but, subject to subsection (2) below, the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect in relation to them instead.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parishes

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• (1) For every parish there shall be a parish meeting for the purpose of discussing parish affairs and exercising any functions conferred on such meetings by any enactment and, subject to the provisions of this Act or any instrument made thereunder, for every parish or group of parishes having a parish council before 1st April 1974 there shall continue to be a parish council.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) Subject to any order under section 10 or 11 below Part II of the Local Government Act 1992 or section 86 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, there shall be a separate parish council for—

• (a) every parish which immediately before the passing of this Act was a borough included in a rural district;

• (b) every parish which immediately before the passing of this Act was co-extensive with a rural district;

• (c) every parish established by paragraph 1 of Part IV of Schedule 1 to this Act;

• (d) every parish to which part of another parish is added by paragraph 2 of the said Part IV and which immediately before the passing of this Act had no parish council; and

• (e) every parish constituted under Part V of Schedule 1 to this Act.

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) An order shall not be made under section 86 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 establishing a separate parish council for a parish grouped under a common parish council unless by that order or an order under section 11(4) below the parish is separated from the group or the group is dissolved, and where the group is not dissolved, the order under section 86 of the 2007 Act shall make such provision as appears to the district council to be necessary for the alteration of the parish council of the group.

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• (1) Where the population of a parish having a separate parish council includes not more than 150 local government electors, the parish meeting may apply to the district council London borough council for the dissolution of the parish council, and thereupon the district council London borough council may by order dissolve the parish council.

• (2) Where an application under this section by a parish meeting is rejected, another such application may not be presented by that meeting within two years from the making of the previous application.

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• (1) The parish meeting of a parish may apply to the district council or London borough council for an order grouping the parish with some neighbouring parish or parishes in the same district or London borough under a common parish council or by adding the parish to an existing group of such parishes under such a council, and the district council or London borough councilmay thereupon make an order accordingly, but subject to subsection (2) below.

• (2) Parishes shall not be grouped without the consent of the parish meeting of each of the parishes.

• (3) A grouping order shall make the necessary provision—

• (a) for the name of the group;

• (b) the electoral arrangements that are to apply to the council;

• (c) for the application to the parishes included in the group of all or any of the provisions of sections 298 to 303 of the Charities Act 2011 (parochial charities) and of any of the provisions of this Act with respect to the custody of parish documents, so as to preserve the separate rights of each parish;

• (d) for the dissolution of the separate parish council of any parish included in the group,

and the order may provide for the consent of the parish meeting of a parish being required to any particular act of the parish council, and for any necessary adaptations of this Act to the group of parishes or to the parish meetings of the parishes in the group.

• (3A) In this section “electoral arrangements”, in relation to a council, means all of the following—

• (a) the year in which ordinary elections of councillors are to be held;

• (b) the number of councillors to be elected to the council by each parish;

• (c) the division (or not) of any of the parishes, into wards for the purpose of electing councillors;

• (d) the number and boundaries of any such wards;

• (e) the number of councillors to be elected for any such ward;

• (f) the name of any such ward.

• (4) The district council or London borough council may on the application of the council of a group of parishes or of the parish meeting of any parish included in a group of parishes make an order dissolving the group or separating one or more of those parishes from the group, and an order so made shall make such provision as appears to the district council or London borough council to be necessary for the election of a parish council for any of the parishes in the group, where it is dissolved, and for any of the parishes separated from the group, where it is not.

• (5) Parishes grouped under a common parish council before 1st April 1974 and situated in different districts on and after that date shall, notwithstanding that they are so situated, continue to be grouped under that council—

• (a) unless an order is made under . . . subsection (4) above or Part II of the Local Government Act 1992or section 86 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 dissolving the group; or

• (b) except so far as such an order separates one or more of the parishes from the group;