The Local Government Act 1985 is an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. Its main effect was to abolish the six
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
s of the
metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974, 11 years earlier, by the
Local Government Act 1972, along with the
Greater London Council that had been established in 1965. In their place many single purpose authorities known collectively as 'joint authorities' were established for fire service, police and passenger transport. An ad hoc education authority was established for Inner London and a planning authority for Greater London. The legislation permitted councils to form 'joint arrangements' for waste disposal and other services that they wished to provide together. Time-limited residuary bodies were created to dispose of the assets of the former authorities.
Background
Following the victory of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
at the
1979 general election,
Margaret Thatcher's
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
were involved in a series of high-profile disputes with the GLC and Metropolitan County Councils. All of the authorities were controlled by, or came under the control of the opposition
Labour Party during Thatcher's first term. The Conservative
manifesto for the
1983 general election pledged their abolition, describing the councils as "a wasteful and unnecessary tier of government". Having won a landslide victory in the
1983 General Election, the government published a
white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
in October of that year, ''
Streamlining the cities Streamlining the cities: Government proposals for reorganising local government in Greater London and the Metropolitan counties was a government white paper issued in 1983, by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher which led to the abolit ...
''. Its proposals formed the basis of the Local Government Bill.
Provisions
The core provision, section 1, stated that "the Greater London Council; and the metropolitan county councils" shall cease to exist. It came into effect on 1 April 1986, with some powers being devolved to the
metropolitan boroughs themselves and
London boroughs and others to joint authorities (such as for fire or police purposes) consisting of members of each of the metropolitan district councils within each county. At the time of the Act, one third of the population of England were living in Greater London and the metropolitan counties.
[Hampton, W., ''Local Government and Urban Politics'', (1991)]
Time-limited
residuary bodies were created to handle the disposal of the councils' assets. Part III of the Act also set up the
Inner London Education Authority, which had previously been a committee of the GLC responsible for education in
Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was ...
, as a directly elected body. This was to remain in existence for only three years.
The
Local Government Act 1972 allowed councils to voluntarily form joint committees to provide services together and the Local Government Act 1985 extended this principle by directing local authorities to form some shared arrangements whilst permitting them to form others as they wished.
Local authorities abolished by Part I
Six metropolitan county councils were abolished and the local authority of Greater London.
*
Greater London Council
*
Greater Manchester County Council
*
Merseyside County Council
*
South Yorkshire County Council
*
Tyne and Wear County Council
*
West Midlands County Council
*
West Yorkshire County Council
West Yorkshire County Council (WYCC) – also known as West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council (WYMCC) – was the top-tier local government administrative body for West Yorkshire from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilitie ...
Joint committees established by Part II
*
Joint planning committee for Greater London
*Greater Manchester Trading Standards Joint Committee
*Merseyside County Trading Standards Joint Committee
*South Yorkshire Trading Standards Joint Committee
*Tyne and Wear Trading Standards Joint Committee
*West Midlands Trading Standards Joint Committee
*West Yorkshire Trading Standards Joint Committee
Joint arrangements established by Part II
*East London Waste Authority
*
Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority
*
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority
The Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) (formerly Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA)) is a statutory waste disposal authority that manages the municipal solid waste produced in Merseyside, England. MWDA was established in 1 ...
*North London Waste Authority
*Western Riverside Waste Authority
*West London Waste Authority
Ad hoc authorities established by Part III
*
Inner London Education Authority
Note: The outer London borough councils and metropolitan district councils were already education authorities.
Joint authorities established by Part IV
A number of single purpose authorities were established, collectively known as ''joint authorities'' in the legislation.
;Fire and civil defence authorities
*Greater Manchester Fire and Civil Defence Authority
*
London Fire and Civil Defence Authority
*Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority
*South Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority
*Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority
*West Midlands Fire and Civil Defence Authority
*West Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority
;Passenger transport authorities
*
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority
The Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) was a local government institution responsible for the strategic direction of passenger transport in Greater Manchester. It existed from 1969 to 1974 as the SELNEC Passenger Transpor ...
*Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority
*South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority
*Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority
*West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority
*West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority
Note:
London Regional Transport
London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...
was established separately by the
London Regional Transport Act 1984.
;Police authorities
*Greater Manchester Police Authority
*Merseyside Police Authority
*Northumbria Police Authority
*South Yorkshire Police Authority
*West Midlands Police Authority
*West Yorkshire Police Authority
Note: The
Metropolitan Police was under the control of the
Home Office and unaffected by the legislation.
Ad hoc bodies established by Part V
*
London Boroughs Grants Committee
Residuary bodies established by Part VII
*Greater Manchester Residuary Body
*
London Residuary Body
*Merseyside Residuary Body
*South Yorkshire Residuary Body
*Tyne and Wear Residuary Body
*West Midlands Residuary Body
*West Yorkshire Residuary Body
Ad hoc bodies established by Part IX
*
London Research Centre
References
{{Margaret Thatcher
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1985
Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England
Local government legislation in England and Wales