The Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22) is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

that reformed

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. Its principal purposes are: * to give powers to local authorities to promote economic, social and environmental well-being within their boundaries * to require local authorities to shift from their traditional committee-based system of decision-making to an executive model, possibly with a directly elected mayor (subject to approval by referendum), and with a cabinet of ruling party group members * to create a consequent separation of functions with local authorities, with

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

councillors fulfilling an overview and scrutiny role * to introduce a revised ethical framework for local authorities, requiring the adoption of codes of conduct for elected members and standards committees to implement the codes of conduct; the introduction of a national Standards Board and Adjudication Panel to deal with complaints and to oversee disciplinary issues * to require each local authority to produce a publicly available constitution The introduction of directly elected mayors (leaders) was the most radical innovation in the Act. To 2017, 53 referendums have been held, 16 of which have agreed with so resulted in an elected mayor (directly elected leader) option. The role of all other mayors is a charitable councillor, somewhat as a figurehead, in ceremonial occasions wearing the civic regalia and sometimes as chairman of events, usually co-opted to serve outside of their duties as councillor for one year only, the most powerful example of which is the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. Directly elected mayors resemble the old borough mayors of Great Britain, before reform by corporations and legislation, and some European equivalent empowered figures.

Options for council executive forms

The act, as amended, stipulates that the executive of a local authority must take one of the following forms: *Leader and cabinet executive *Mayor and cabinet executive *Alternative arrangement (Section 31) (referred to as a Section 31 arrangement, most commonly seen in coalitions of political parties) A mayor and council manager (fourth) option was repealed by the

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c. 28) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act allows for the implementation of many provisions outlined in the Governme ...

. Changes made by the

Localism Act 2011 The Localism Act 2011 (c. 20) is an Act of Parliament that changes the powers of local government in England. The aim of the act is to facilitate the devolution of decision-making powers from central government control to individuals and commun ...

made it possible for larger authorities (more than 85,000 population) to adopt a committee system of governance.

External links

*
The Local Government Act 2000
as originally enacted, from the

Office of Public Sector Information The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

.
Explanatory notes
to the Local Government Act 2000 from the Office of Public Sector Information. Local government legislation in England and Wales United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2000 Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom {{UK-statute-stub