Local Government Act 1985
1985 c. 51
An Act to abolish the Greater London Council and the metropolitan county councils; to transfer their functions to the local authorities in their areas and, in some cases, to other bodies; and to provide for other matters consequential on, or connected with, the abolition of those councils.
[16th July 1985]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Abolition of GLC and metropolitan county councils.
(1) On the date on which this subsection comes into force—
(a) the Greater London Council; and
(b) the metropolitan county councils,
shall cease to exist.
(2) The date on which subsection (1) above comes into force is in this Act referred to as the “abolition date” and shall be 1st April 1986.
6 Listed buildings, conservation areas and ancient monuments.
Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect for amending the law relating to listed buildings, conservation areas, ancient monuments and certain related subjects, the principal purpose of the amendments being—
(a) to transfer functions relating to those matters from the Greater London Council to the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England; and
(b) to make, in the enactments relating to those functions, amendments consequential on section 3(1) above.
(1) Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for transferring functions relating to National Parks and the countryside from—
(a) the Greater London Council to London borough councils and the Common Council; and
(b) from metropolitan county councils to metropolitan district councils.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect for amending the law relating to highways, streets and bridges, and Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act for amending certain enactments relating to road traffic, the principal purpose of the amendments being to transfer functions relating to those matters—
(a) from the Greater London Council to London borough councils and the Common Council; and
(b) from metropolitan county councils to metropolitan district councils.
(2) The supplementary provisions in Part II of Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the regulation of road traffic in Greater London and the metropolitan counties.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect for transferring functions relating to waste regulation and disposal—
(a) from the Greater London Council to London borough councils and the Common Council; and
(b) from metropolitan county councils to metropolitan district councils.
10 Joint arrangements for waste disposal functions.
(1) If it appears to the Secretary of State in the case of Greater London or of any metropolitan county—
(a) that all or any of the councils by which functions to which this section applies will be exercisable in that area from the abolition date could with advantage make joint arrangements for the discharge of all or any of those functions from that date but have not made any or any satisfactory arrangements for that purpose before 15th November 1985; or
(b) that satisfactory arrangements for that purpose have ceased or will cease to be in operation at any time after the abolition date,
he shall by order establish for the whole or any part of that area a single authority to discharge from that date or, as the case may be, from any subsequent time all those functions or such of them as are specified in the order.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above the Secretary of State shall have particular regard to the need for satisfactory arrangements in respect of hazardous waste.
(3) No person shall be a member of an authority established by an order under subsection (1) above unless he is a member of one of the councils for whose areas the authority is established; and any such order may make provision for enabling the Secretary of State to require the authority established by the order to submit to him a scheme for the winding up of the authority and the transfer to those councils of its functions, property, staff, rights and liabilities.
(4) This section applies to any functions conferred by section 74 or 76 of the Public Health Act 1936, Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 or section 5 or 6 of the Litter Act 1983.
(5) The Secretary of State may by order dissolve any authority established under this section or provide for excluding any functions, or any functions in any area, from those for which the authority was established.
(6) An order under this section may contain such supplementary and transitional provisions as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient, including provisions for the transfer of property, staff, rights and liabilities and provisions amending any enactment or any instrument made under any enactment.
(7) An order may be made by virtue of subsection (1)(a) above at any time before the abolition date.
(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2) The Secretary of State may by an order made before and taking effect on the abolition date make provision for the exercise on and after that date of the functions which by virtue of Schedule 5 to that Act are exercisable by the Greater London Council in the London excluded area and for that purpose may make such consequential amendments in that Act and the Water Act 1973 as appear to him to be required.
(3) In section 2(1) of the Reservoirs Act 1975 (local authorities for the purposes of that Act) for the words “the Greater London Council and county councils” there shall be substituted the words “the councils of counties, metropolitan districts and London boroughs”.
Schedule 8 to this Act shall have effect for transferring functions under the enactments there mentioned—
(a) from the Greater London Council to London borough councils and the Common Council; and
(b) from metropolitan county councils to metropolitan district councils.
(1) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act and to any other provision made by or under this Act or any other enactment—
(a) any functions conferred by a local statutory provision which immediately before the abolition date are exercisable by the Greater London Council in or for the benefit of the whole of Greater London shall on and after that date be exercisable in or for the benefit of each London borough or the City by the council of that borough or the Common Council, as the case may be; and
(b) any functions conferred by a local statutory provision which immediately before that date are exercisable by the council of a metropolitan county in or for the benefit of the whole of that county shall on and after that date be exercisable in or for the benefit of each district in the county by the council of that district.
(2) In this section “local statutory provision” means a provision of a local Act (including an Act confirming a provisional order) or a provision of an instrument made under any such local Act or of an instrument in the nature of a local enactment made under any other Act.
In this Part of this Act “the appointed day”, in relation to the establishment of the authorities mentioned in the following provisions (in this Act referred to as “joint authorities”), means such day before the abolition date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint, and different days may be appointed for different authorities.
26 Metropolitan county fire and civil defence authorities.
(1) On the appointed day there shall be established for each metropolitan county a body corporate to be known by the name of that county with the addition of the words “Fire and Civil Defence Authority”.
(2) The authorities established by this section shall be known as metropolitan county fire and civil defence authorities.
(3) Subject to subsection (5), each metropolitan county fire and civil defence authority shall consist of members of the constituent councils appointed by them to be members of the authority.
(4) The constituent councils in relation to a metropolitan county fire and civil defence authority shall be the councils of the metropolitan districts comprised in the county.
(5) A metropolitan county fire and rescue authority may appoint a relevant police and crime commissioner to be a member of the authority.
(6) An appointment under subsection (5) may only be made in response to a request by the relevant police and crime commissioner.
(7) If a request under subsection (6) is made to a metropolitan county fire and rescue authority, the authority must—
(a) consider the request,
(b) give reasons for their decision to agree to or refuse the request, and
(c) publish those reasons in such manner as they think appropriate.
(8) In this section “relevant police and crime commissioner”, in relation to a metropolitan county fire and rescue authority, means a police and crime commissioner—
(a) whose area is the same as, or contains all of, the area of the authority, or
(b) all or part of whose area falls within the area of the authority.
(1) On the appointed day there shall be established for each metropolitan county a body corporate to be known by the name of that county with the addition of the words “ Integrated Transport Authority ”.
(2) The authorities established by this section shall be known as Integrated Transport Authorities .
(3) Each Integrated Transport Authority established under this section shall consist of members of the constituent councils appointed by them to be members of the authority.
(4) The constituent councils in relation to an Integrated Transport Authority established under this section shall be the councils of the metropolitan districts comprised in the county.
(1) The number of members to be appointed to a joint authority by a constituent council . . . shall be the number specified for that council . . . in relation to that authority in Schedule 10 to this Act.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, the Secretary of State may by order make alterations in the numbers for the time being specified in that Schedule, including alterations resulting in an increase or decrease in the total number of members of any joint authority.
(3) In making any alternation in the number of members to be appointed to a joint authority by any of its constituent councils the Secretary of State shall have regard to the number of local government electors in the areas of those councils respectively; . . ..
(4) The Secretary of State shall consult a joint authority’s constituent councils before making any order in respect of that authority under subsection (2) above.
(1) A constituent council may at any time terminate the appointment of a person appointed by it to a joint authority and appoint another member of the council in his place.
(2) Where a constituent council exercises its powers under this section—
(a) it shall give notice of the new appointment and of the termination of the previous appointment to the authority to which those appointments were made; and
(b) subject to subsection (3) below and to section 32(5) below, the new appointment shall take effect, and the previous appointment shall terminate, at the end of one month from the date on which the notice is given.
(3) Where a constituent council exercises its powers under this section to replace a person who has continued to be a member of a joint authority by virtue of section 32(1A) below and notice is given not later than seven days after the council’s annual meeting next following his retirement and re-election, his appointment shall terminate and the new appointment shall take effect upon the notice being given.
(1) The appointment of a person to a joint authority by a constituent council shall terminate if he ceases to be a member of the council; and where a person’s appointment terminates by virtue of this subsection the constituent council shall as soon as practicable give notice of that fact to the authority to which he was appointed.
(1A) For the purposes of this section a person shall not be treated as ceasing to be a member of a constituent council where he retires by virtue of—
(a) section 7(3) of the Local Government Act 1972 (retirement of metropolitan district councillors), or
(b) paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 2 to that Act (retirement of London borough councillors),
and is re-elected to membership of the council not later than the day of his retirement.
(2) Where a vacancy among the persons appointed to a joint authority by a constituent council occurs for any reason other than that mentioned in subsection (1) above, the joint authority shall give notice of that fact to the constituent council—
(a) in a case where the authority declares the office to be vacant, immediately after the declaration;
(b) in a case where the High Court declares the office to be vacant, as soon as practicable after the date of the declaration; and
(c) in the case of resignation, as soon as practicable after the date of receipt of the notice of resignation by the officer to whom it is required to be delivered.
(3) Where a vacancy occurs among the persons appointed to a joint authority by a constituent council, that council shall not later than one month after the relevant date—
(a) appoint another member of the council to fill the vacancy; and
(b) give notice of that appointment to the joint authority;
and any appointment made under this subsection shall take effect when notice of the appointment is given as aforesaid.
(4) In subsection (3) above “the relevant date” means, in a case within subsection (1) above, the date on which the person in question ceased to be a member of the constituent council and, in a case within subsection (2) above, the date on which notice of the vacancy is given to the constituent council under that subsection.
(5) So much of subsection (2)(b) of section 31 above as provides that the previous appointment shall terminate at the end of the period there mentioned shall not be construed as precluding its earlier termination by virtue of subsection (1) above or for any other reason; but in that event—
(a) the new appointment and the notice of it given under that section shall be treated as a sufficient compliance with subsection (3) above; and
(b) the new appointment shall take effect on the termination of the previous appointment or on the giving of that notice, whichever is the later.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)(b) above an appointment which terminates by virtue of subsection (1) above shall be treated as terminating when notice of that fact is given in accordance with that subsection.
(7) Where a person is appointed to a joint authority by a constituent council and before his appointment takes effect he—
(a) ceases to be a member of that council; or
(b) otherwise becomes disqualified for appointment,
that council shall as soon as practicable replace his appointment by a further appointment and give notice of it to the joint authority; and the further appointment shall take effect when the original appointment would have taken effect or on the giving of that notice, whichever is the later.
(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) A joint authority shall in each year appoint a chairman and vice-chairman from among its members.
(2) The appointments under subsection (1) above shall be the first business transacted at the annual meeting of the authority.
(3) Subject to any standing orders made by the authority, anything authorised or required to be done by or in relation to the chairman may be done by or in relation to the vice-chairman.
(4) The authority may pay to the chairman and vice-chairman for the purpose of enabling him to meet the expenses of his office such allowance as the authority thinks reasonable.
(5) In the case of an equality of votes in respect of the appointment of a chairman the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any other vote he may have.
(6) On a casual vacancy occurring in the office of chairman, an appointment to fill the vacancy shall be made at the next ordinary meeting of the authority held after the date on which the vacancy occurs, or if that meeting is held within fourteen days after that date then not later than the next following meeting; and any such meeting may be convened by the proper officer of the authority.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (6) above the vacancy shall be deemed to have occurred—
(a) if the chairman has ceased to be a member of the authority by reason of section 31 above, at the time specified in subsection (2)(b) of that section;
(b) if the chairman has ceased to be a member by reason of section 32(1) above, when notice thereof is given to the authority under that provision;
(ba) if the chairman is a police and crime commissioner and the authority and the commissioner have agreed that the commissioner should cease to be a member of the authority, the date agreed by the authority and the commissioner as the date on which the commissioner's membership should cease; and
(c) in any other case, on the date of the declaration or of receipt of the notice of resignation mentioned in section 32(2) above.
(8) Each joint authority shall appoint a person to be the clerk to the authority and in making the appointment the authority shall have regard to the desirability of that person being the chief officer of a constituent council of the authority.
(1) A person shall be disqualified for being appointed or being a member of a joint authority if he holds any paid office or employment (other than the office of chairman or vice-chairman or, in the case of a local authority which are operating executive arrangements which involve a leader and cabinet executive, the office of executive leader or member of the executive) appointments or elections to which are or may be made or confirmed by the authority or any committee or sub-committee of the authority or by a joint committee on which the authority is represented or by any person holding any such office or employment or by an elected mayor .
(2) A paid officer of a joint authority who is employed under the direction of—
(a) a committee or sub-committee of the joint authority any member of which is appointed on the nomination of another joint authority or of a local authority; or
(b) a joint committee on which the joint authority is represented and any member of which is so appointed,
shall be disqualified for being appointed or being a member of that other joint authority or for being elected or being a member of the local authority, as the case may be.
(3) A person who is for the time being a member, officer or servant of, or an officer or servant of a subsidiary (within the meaning of the Transport Act 1962) of, the Passenger Transport Executive for an area which is or was coterminous with the area of a metropolitan county shall be disqualified for being appointed or being a member of the Integrated Transport Authority for that county.
(4) In this section, “elected mayor”, “executive”, “executive arrangements”, and executive leader have the same meaning as in Part II of the Local Government Act 2000.
(5) In this section “leader and cabinet executive” means—
(a) in relation to England: a leader and cabinet executive (England);
(b) in relation to Wales: a leader and cabinet executive (Wales);
and for this purpose “leader and cabinet executive (England)” and “leader and cabinet executive (Wales)” have the same meanings as in Part 2 of the Local Government Act 2000.
As soon as practicable after receiving notice from a constituent council . . . that it has made an appointment, or . . . that it has terminated an appointment, under this Part of this Act, the authority to which the appointment was made shall give public notice of the fact that the appointment has been made or terminated and of the name of the person concerned.
Schedule 11 to this Act shall have effect, as from the abolition date, for vesting functions relating to . . . fire services and certain related matters in the police authorities and fire and civil defence authorities established by this Part of this Act.
(1) Schedule 12 to this Act shall have effect for transferring functions relating to passenger transport to the metropolitan county passenger transport authorities and for making provision with respect to the exercise of those functions.
(2) In that Schedule paragraph 3 shall have effect from the abolition date and paragraph 5 shall have effect as provided in sub-paragraph (5) of that paragraph.
(1) If, in the case of any airport in respect of which a metropolitan county council has property, rights or liabilities, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the councils of the districts comprised in the county have agreed on—
(a) the operation of the airport from the abolition date by a committee consisting of or including members appointed by all or any of those councils; and
(b) the transfer or division of the property, rights and liabilities of the metropolitan county council to or among all or any of those councils,
he may, by an order coming into force on that date, provide for the transfer or division of that property and those rights and liabilities in accordance with the agreement.
(2) If, in the case of any such airport, the Secretary of State is not satisfied as aforesaid he may by an order coming into force on the abolition date provide for the transfer of the property, rights and liabilities of the metropolitan county council in respect of the airport to the metropolitan county passenger transport authority.
(3) In sections 30 , 31, 35 and 88(10) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (airport functions of local authorities) references to a local authority shall include references to an Integrated Transport Authority for an integrated transport area in England ; and before making any order under subsection (1) or (2) above the Secretary of State shall satisfy himself that any necessary consent under section 30 of that Act has been or will be obtained.
Arrangements shall be made (whether by standing orders or otherwise) for enabling questions on the discharge of the functions of a joint authority to be put in the course of the proceedings of any constituent council by members of that council for answer by a member of it who is also a member of the authority and is nominated by the authority for that purpose.
(1) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for ...
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d) ..., the transfer to the council of a metropolitan district or London borough or to the Common Council in respect of its area of any functions that would otherwise be exercisable in respect of that area by a joint authority or, in the case of the council of a metropolitan district, by a Passenger Transport Executive.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) Before making an order under this section the Secretary of State shall consult each of the following bodies which appears to him to be affected by the order, that is to say, ...... the council of a county, district or London borough and the Common Council.
(4) An order under this section may contain such supplementary and transitional provisions as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient, including provisions for the transfer of property, staff, rights and liabilities and provisions amending any other provision of this Act, any other enactment or any instrument made under any enactment.
(1), (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) In sections 9(1) and (3), 14(1) and (2) and 15(1) and (2) of that Act (functions of Corporation and Greater London Council) for the words “the Corporation and the Greater London Council”, wherever they occur, there shall be substituted the words “and the Corporation”.
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) In paragraph 4 of the Schedule to that Act (resignation and vacation of office)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (1) for the words “or (c) thereof, to the body by whom he was appointed” there shall be substituted the words “thereof, to the Corporation”;
(b) in sub-paragraph (2) for the words from “or (c)” to “was appointed” there shall be substituted the words “of this Act who is, at the time of his appointment, a member of the Common Council of the City of London”.
(6) Subsections (3) to (5) above shall have effect from the abolition date.
The Historic House Museums, that is to say, Kenwood House, Marble Hill House and Ranger’s House, together with such land of the Greater London Council adjacent to Kenwood House and such other property of that Council as may be specified by an order made by the Secretary of State, shall on the abolition date vest in the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England; and the functions of the Greater London Council by virtue of—
(a) the Iveagh Bequest (Kenwood) Act 1929;
(b) Part IV of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1902 (which relates to the Marble Hill Estate); and
(c) section 21 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1900, section 22 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1952 and section 6 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) (No. 2) Act 1978 (which relate to Ranger’s House),
shall on that date become functions of the Commission.