Kingston London Borough Council is the local authority for the

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, England. It is a

London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

History

Kingston upon Thames London UK labelled ward map 2002

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Kingston upon Thames area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the

London Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Engl ...

on 1 April 1965. Kingston upon Thames replaced the

Municipal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston-upon-Thames (spelt with hyphens) was a local government district in north east Surrey, England from 1835 to 1965 around the town now known as Kingston upon Thames. It was alternatively known as Kingston on Thames (spelt with or without ...

(which itself was a

Royal Borough The following list of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom includes both those granted a royal title or status by express wish of a specific monarch, and those with prefixes or suffixes such as "King's" or "Regis" that relate to ...

), the

Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe Malden and Coombe was a local government district in Surrey, England from 1866 to 1965. New Malden Local Government District was formed in 1866 under the Local Government Act 1858 from part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames. It was ...

and the

Municipal Borough of Surbiton Surbiton was a local government district in northeast Surrey, United Kingdom from 1855 to 1965. Creation Until 1855 Surbiton was administered as part of the parish of Kingston upon Thames. In that year a body of improvement commissioners was fo ...

. It was envisaged that through the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

Kingston upon Thames as a London local authority would share power with the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an

outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London boroughs that form a ring around Inner London. Together, the inner and outer boroughs form London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. These were areas that were not part of the County of Londo ...

borough council it has been an

education authority The Education Authority ( ga, Údarás Oideachais) is a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Education (Northern Ireland), Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It was established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) ...

since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as

waste disposal Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

. Since 2000 the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for

functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

and is also responsible for

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

Criticism

Size of staff departure payments

In the financial years 2015–19, under a Conservative and then Liberal Democrat administration the council spent £2.4 million of public money on so-called ‘golden goodbyes’ to departing senior staff, including: * Over £250,000 for Bruce McDonald, the former CEO of the council. * £316,000 to Charlie Adan, former council chief executive, who left her role two months after the May 2018 local elections, reportedly because she clashed with new council leader, Liz Green.Private Eye, Issue 1502, p.18 * £160,000 to Roy Thompson, who served as temporary Chief Executive for less than six months, while Adan's successor was found, with his post as deputy being axed as a cost saving. * £442,000 split between five ‘senior officers’.

References

External links