[ukebert]

V115 - The Local Government (Reform) Bill, L i b

The Local Government (Reform) Bill

An Act to reform local government, further devolve powers to local bodies and to provide for the better representation of the people by local institutions.

BE IT ENACTED by The Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-


Part I
Counties of the United Kingdom


1. Traditional counties restored

(1) Outside of Greater London, traditional counties shall be restored to their local government function within the same boundaries as they have previously existed. For the avoidance of doubt, these counties shall be—
(a) the 33 pre-1975 counties of Scotland
(b) the 39 traditional counties of England, minus Middlesex, and dividing Yorkshire into its North, East and West Ridings.
(c) the 6 counties of Northern Ireland
(d) the 8 ‘preserved counties’ of Wales.
and are referred to in the links contained in Schedule to this Act.
(2) All existing local authorities are hereby disbanded.

2. County administration

(1) The executive authority of a county administration shall be vested in a directly elected mayor, to be known as the Chief Magistrate.
(2) There shall be county councils in each county consisting of five councillors elected by the d’Hondt method of proportional representation to oversee the work of the Chief Magistrate, approve an annual budget and to assist in the administration of local services where invited to do so by the Chief Magistrate.
(3) County elections for the Chief Magistrate and councillors shall be held at the same time, at least once every four years.
(4) The Chief Magistrate may appoint any persons to managerial roles within the county administration as he sees fit.

3. Aldermen

(1) Aldermen elected by local councils as abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 shall be restored, serving a six year term of office and consisting ex officio of all former Chief Magistrates for life.
(2) The Aldermen of a county shall compose a council chaired by the Lord Lieutenant of the county.
(3) Aldermen who are not entitled ex officio to their positions shall be of a number to be agreed between the county council and the Chief Magistrate, with two-thirds of that number elected by the county council and one-third selected by the Chief Magistrate.
(4) The council of Aldermen shall be consulted by the county council on all decisions and their responses published and given consideration.
(5) Matters declared by agreement of both the Chief Magistrate and the Lord Lieutenant to be urgent shall not be subject to subsection (3).
(6) Aldermen shall receive no salary.


Part II
Administration of County Subdivisions


4. Boroughs

(1) Boroughs shall be a secondary tier of local government, with boundaries to be established by boundary commissions in consultation with local authorities, parishes, HM Government and any other interested parties.
(2) All local authorities which are not presently unitary shall retain their subdivisions as boroughs, as well as those counties currently divided into multiple local authority areas.
(3) Present City council areas shall become boroughs and remain able to retain their present names.
(4) Counties without present subdivisions shall be allowed to petition HM Government for the formation of borough-level authorities within their boundaries.
(5) The former Royal Burghs of Scotland shall be restored as combined parish-borough units with the powers of both.

5. Parish councils

Community councils in Wales and Scotland shall be abolished and Parish councils restored within their existing borders. Civil parishes shall be the smallest level of government across the United Kingdom.

6. Governance of Subdivisions

(1) Parishes shall follow the new mayoral structure introduced for county councils, with a parish council overseeing the actions of a parish Mayor, except where otherwise provided by section 7.
(2) The governance of boroughs shall be established from county to county by a borough constitution made by the county council, which shall be laid before Parliament for approval.
(3) Parish councillors shall receive no salary.
(4) Borough officials shall be remunerated at the absolute discretion of the county council.
(5) Parish Mayors shall be given a small salary and expenses funded by HM Treasury.

7. Metropolitan parishes

(1) Parishes within the boundaries of cities which are transformed into boroughs by virtue of section 4(3) shall not elect Mayors and shall retain a parish council structure with a chairman elected from amongst their number.
(2) Metropolitan parishes shall have no lawful powers except as awarded to them by their borough (city) council other than to be properly consulted on matters which current parish or community councils would be.


Part III
Incidental Provisions

8. Terminology

(1) It shall be within the remit of any county - with the consent of the Chief Magistrate - to use any other terms to describe its Chief Magistrate or Councillors that it sees fit, or to translate these titles into Welsh, Irish or Scottish Gaelic where there is local demand.
(2) A county council - with the consent of the Mayor - may alter the title of boroughs to districts, ridings or hundreds, or to translate any of these titles into Welsh or Scottish Gaelic where there is local demand.
(3) By default, in Scotland, Mayors shall be known as Provosts, and boroughs as burghs.
(4) A county council may - with the consent of the Mayor - translate the name of its county and its county title into Welsh, Irish or Scottish Gaelic where there is local demand.
(5) This section shall apply in Northern Ireland subject to the approval of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

9. Elections

(1) Mayoral and council elections shall on the same day in counties and parishes.
(2) County and borough elections shall be on the same day, and to be held in May 2010.
(3) The first term for county and borough mayors and councils shall be no more than two years, rising to four years thereafter.
(4) Parish elections shall be held in September 2009 and shall never be held on the same date as county and borough elections.
(5) No local government elections shall be held on the same day as a General Election of an election to any of the devolved assemblies.

10. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Local Government (Reform) Act 2009.





SCHEDULE

England:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histori...ies_of_England (minus Middlesex and any other areas extending into Greater London)
Scotland:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countie...m_1890_to_1975
Wales:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preserv...nties_of_Wales
Northern Ireland:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countie...eland#Counties


EXPLANATORY NOTES

Section 3 – Aldermen

I think Aldermen are a fairly decent idea, allowing for interested persons and volunteers to participate in local government without being full-time elected councillors. While they have no actual power other than to be consulted, it could provide an effective revising chamber akin to the Lords minus the problems of unelected legal standing.

It could also be used as a position to reward and provide status to local dignitaries.

Section 6 – Governance

I believe if anything that the Mayoral structure is more important for more local bodies than it is for counties - at the moment, most parish councils are barely known and run with volunteers who are not elected as a result of too few nominations. As such, parish mayors will likely end up the one elected official

Section 8 – Terminology

It should be noted ‘Mayor’ is largely an English title, with local equivalents such as Provost in Scotland.

The translation issue is to recognise that some county-level councils already translate their names, such as Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (the Western Isles Council).

Subsection (5) applying to Northern Ireland is to prevent such positions or linguistic issues being used in order to only reflect one community tradition, considering the Good Friday Agreement 1998’s commitment to ‘parity of esteem’.

Section 9 – Elections

This is basically to prevent what has already been criticised in Scotland - local elections overshadowing one another (the Scottish Parliament elections have recently been held on the same dates as council elections) - thus it gives little if any time for discussion of local issues.

[Llamaaa]

I would like to point out that I voted in error- I was half asleep and out of laziness pressed the tab button to get to the submit thingy but must have clicked "No" in the process.

Call me a spoilt ballot

Apologies!

[ukebert]

:wtf?:

[Matthew_Lowson]

The bill will pass, as it cannot fail now since there is a gap of 13 votes between Aye and Noe, and just 11 votes remain

[Matthew_Lowson]

I for one am very pleased to see this bill pass

[L i b]

(Original post by Matthew_Lowson)
I for one am very pleased to see this bill pass

As, indeed, am I - not surprisingly!

However I'm slightly disappointed that the vote was not more one-sided. I note all those who voted No, except my Hon. friend who voted in error, are Labour or Socialist members - and that not a single Socialist voted in favour! I was rather hoping the Bill would overcome partisanship and earn cross-party support, particularly after the First Reading was quite so successful.

[Matthew_Lowson]

(Original post by L i b)
As, indeed, am I - not surprisingly!

However I'm slightly disappointed that the vote was not more one-sided. I note all those who voted No, except my Hon. friend who voted in error, are Labour or Socialist members - and that not a single Socialist voted in favour! I was rather hoping the Bill would overcome partisanship and earn cross-party support, particularly after the First Reading was quite so successful.

L i b, clear your inbox out!!!

[L i b]

(Original post by Matthew_Lowson)
L i b, clear your inbox out!!!

Done.

[ukebert]

Since this is one of "my" bills I'll do the honours:

The Ayes have it, the Ayes have it, unlock!