PART 1 continued CHAPTER 1 continued
(1) The Secretary of State may by order establish one or more bodies corporate (“residuary bodies”) for the purpose of taking over any property, rights or liabilities, and any related functions, of local authorities which cease to exist by virtue of orders under section 7 or 10.
(2) An order under subsection (1) may—
(a) make provision with respect to the constitution and membership of a residuary body;
(b) make provision with respect to the powers of a residuary body to make levies and to borrow and lend money and the treatment and distribution of capital and other money by such a body;
(c) make provision with respect to the keeping and auditing of accounts of a residuary body;
(d) make provision with respect to directions which may be given by the Secretary of State in relation to the carrying out by a residuary body of any of its functions;
(e) make provision enabling the Secretary of State to require a residuary body to submit to him a scheme for the winding up of the body and the disposal of its property, rights and liabilities and related functions.
(3) The Secretary of State may by order provide—
(a) for the transfer to any other body or bodies (including any body or bodies corporate established under the order for the purpose) of any property, rights or liabilities, and any related functions, of a residuary body; and
(b) for giving effect (with or without modifications) to any scheme submitted to him under a provision made by virtue of subsection (2)(e) and for the dissolution of a residuary body.
(4) An order under this section may include incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provision, including in particular provision of a kind mentioned in paragraphs (c) to (f) of section 15(1).
(5) Section 15(2) and (3) (power to apply etc enactments) apply to an order under this section as to an order under section 7.
(1) The Secretary of State may by order establish one or more staff commissions for the purpose of—
(a) considering and keeping under review the arrangements for the recruitment of staff by relevant authorities affected by orders under this Chapter and for the transfer in consequence of any such order of staff employed by such authorities;
(b) considering such staffing problems arising in consequence of such an order, and such other matters relating to staff employed by any such authority, as may be referred to the staff commission by the Secretary of State; and
(c) advising the Secretary of State on the steps necessary to safeguard the interests of such staff.
(2) Such a commission may be established for the whole or any part of England.
(3) The Secretary of State may give directions to a staff commission with respect to their procedure.
(4) The Secretary of State may give directions to any relevant authority affected by an order under this Chapter with respect to—
(a) the provision of any information requested and the implementation of any advice given by a staff commission;
(b) the payment by such an authority of any expenses incurred by a staff commission in doing anything requested by the authority.
(5) Any expenses incurred by a staff commission under this section and not recovered from a relevant authority shall be paid by the Secretary of State out of money provided by Parliament.
(6) The Secretary of State may by order provide for the winding up of any staff commission established under this section.
(7) A direction under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent direction.
(8) In this section “relevant authority” means—
(a) a local authority; or
(b) a residuary body established under section 17.
(1) Where an order under this Chapter transfers the functions of district councils in relation to any area to a council for a county consisting of that area, the county council—
(a) shall, for any financial year beginning at the same time as or after that transfer, be a billing authority for the purposes of Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14) in relation to the area;
(b) shall not, for any such year, be a major precepting authority for those purposes.
(2) This section does not limit any power to make provision by order under this Chapter or any power to make incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provision in connection with the provisions of any such order.
(3) In this section “financial year” means 12 months beginning with 1 April.
(1) Where—
(a) an order under any provision of this Chapter has been made by the Secretary of State, and
(b) the Secretary of State is satisfied that there is a mistake in the order which cannot be rectified by a subsequent order made under that provision by virtue of section 14 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) (power to amend),
the Secretary of State may rectify the mistake by order under this section.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a “mistake” in an order includes a provision contained in or omitted from the order in reliance on inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by any public body.
(3) In subsection (2) “public body” includes a parish council.
(1) In this section a “pre-commencement invitation” means an invitation given by the Secretary of State before the commencement of this Chapter which, after that commencement, could have been given under the power in section 2.
(2) If before the commencement of this Chapter—
(a) a pre-commencement invitation was given,
(b) guidance as to what a proposal should seek to achieve, or as to matters that should be taken into account in formulating a proposal, was given by the Secretary of State in connection with such an invitation,
(c) a proposal was made in response to such an invitation, or
(d) consultation was carried out by the Secretary of State in relation to such a proposal,
it is immaterial that the invitation or guidance was given, the proposal made, or the consultation carried out, before rather than after the commencement of this Chapter.
(3) Accordingly (and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2))—
(a) any reference in this Chapter to an invitation under section 2 includes a pre-commencement invitation;
(b) any reference in this Chapter to a proposal made by virtue of section 2 includes a proposal (whenever made) made in response to a pre-commencement invitation;
(c) any reference in this Chapter to the Secretary of State’s receiving a proposal in response to an invitation under section 2 includes his receiving before the commencement of this Chapter a proposal made in response to a pre-commencement invitation.
Schedule 1 (amendments consequential on this Chapter) has effect.
(1) In this Chapter—
“the Boundary Committee” means the Boundary Committee for England;
“local authority” means a county council in England, a district council in England or a London borough council;
“local government area” means a county in England, a district in England or a London borough;
“principal authority” has the meaning given by section 1;
“public body” includes—
a local authority;
a police authority;
a residuary body established under section 17;
a joint board, or joint committee, on which a local authority is represented;
a levying body within the meaning of section 74(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41);
“single-tier” has the meaning given by subsection (2);
“staff” includes officers and employees;
“two-tier” has the meaning given by subsection (2);
“Type A”, “Type B”, “Type C” and “combined”, in relation to a proposal, have the meanings given by section 2.
(2) For the purposes of this Chapter an area is—
(a) “single-tier” if there is a single tier of local government for it (within the meaning of section 1) or it is a London borough; and
(b) “two-tier” if it is—
(i) a district for which there is a district council and in relation to which a county council has the functions of a county council; or
(ii) a county for which there is a county council and in which there are districts all of which have district councils.
(3) Any reference in this Chapter to a proposal “in response to” an invitation or direction under section 2 is to a Type A, Type B, Type C or combined proposal which—
(a) is in response to such an invitation or direction; and
(b) is in accordance with the invitation or direction and section 3(4).
(4) Any reference in this Chapter, however framed, to a body affected by an order includes a body—
(a) whose area or functions are affected by the order;
(b) which is to cease to exist in pursuance of the order; or
(c) which is established by or in consequence of the order.
(1) The Secretary of State may direct that, with effect from a date specified in the direction, a relevant authority may not without the written consent of a person or persons so specified—
(a) dispose of any land if the consideration for the disposal exceeds £100,000;
(b) enter into any capital contract—
(i) under which the consideration payable by the relevant authority exceeds £1,000,000; or
(ii) which includes a term allowing the consideration payable by the relevant authority to be varied;
(c) enter into any non-capital contract under which the consideration payable by the relevant authority exceeds £100,000, where—
(i) the period of the contract extends beyond a date specified in the direction; or
(ii) under the terms of the contract, that period may be extended beyond that date; or
(d) include an amount of financial reserves in a calculation under section 32(3) or 43(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14).
(2) In this Chapter “relevant authority” means a local authority—
(a) which by virtue of an order under section 7 or 10 is to be dissolved; and
(b) which is specified, or of a description specified, in the direction.
(3) In this section—
“capital contract” means a contract as regards which the consideration payable by the relevant authority would be capital expenditure for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 2003 (c. 26) (capital finance);
“non-capital contract” means a contract which is not a capital contract.
(4) A person specified in the direction as a person whose consent is required may be the Secretary of State or such authority or other person as he thinks appropriate; and the direction may specify different persons—
(a) in relation to different matters for which consent is required;
(b) in relation to different relevant authorities or descriptions of relevant authority.
(1) A direction under section 24—
(a) may provide that the consent of the person or persons specified in the direction is not required for the inclusion, in a calculation under section 32(3) or 43(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, of financial reserves of a description specified in the direction;
(b) may, in relation to any authority or description of authority, provide that that consent is not required for the inclusion in such a calculation of an amount of financial reserves not exceeding an amount specified in or determined under the direction.
(2) If a direction contains provision by virtue of subsection (1), the reference in section 24(1)(d) to an amount of financial reserves is to be read as a reference to an amount of financial reserves other than an amount permitted by the direction.
(1) In this section “direction” means a direction under section 24.
(2) A consent for the purposes of a direction may be given—
(a) in respect of a particular disposal or contract, or in respect of disposals or contracts of any description;
(b) unconditionally or subject to conditions.
(3) The following enactments have effect subject to any direction—
(a) section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) (power to dispose of land);
(b) any other enactment relating to the disposal of land by local authorities.
(4) The consent required by a direction is in addition to any consent required by the enactments mentioned in subsection (3)(a) and (b).
(5) Where the consideration or any of the consideration under a contract is not in money, the limits specified in a direction by virtue of section 24(1)(a) to (c) apply to the value of the consideration.
(6) Where—
(a) a question arises in relation to a direction as to the value of any consideration, and
(b) the relevant authority concerned and the person or persons specified under section 24(1) fail to reach agreement,
the value is to be determined by the Secretary of State.
(7) A direction may be varied or revoked by a subsequent direction.
(1) In determining whether the limit specified in a direction by virtue of section 24(1)(a) is exceeded in the case of a disposal of land by a relevant authority, the consideration with respect to any other disposal of land made after 31 December 2006 by the relevant authority is to be taken into account.
(2) In determining whether a limit specified in a direction by virtue of section 24(1)(b) or (c) is exceeded in the case of a contract entered into by a relevant authority (“the contract in question”), the consideration payable by the relevant authority under any other relevant contract shall be taken into account.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) a “relevant contract” means a contract which is either or both—
(a) a contract entered into after 31 December 2006 by the relevant authority and the person with whom the contract in question is entered into;
(b) a contract entered into after that date by the relevant authority which relates to the same or a similar description of matter as that to which the contract in question relates.
(1) A disposal made in contravention of a direction under section 24 is void.
(2) A contract entered into by an authority (“the old authority”) in contravention of a direction under section 24 is not enforceable against a successor.
(3) In subsection (2) a “successor” means a local authority (other than the old authority)—
(a) which is established by an order under section 7 or 10; and
(b) whose area consists of or includes the whole or part of the area of the old authority.
(4) A contract which apart from this subsection would be a certified contract for the purposes of the Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997 (c. 65) is not a certified contract for those purposes if it is entered into in contravention of a direction under section 24.
(5) If an authority includes financial reserves in a calculation under section 32(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14) in contravention of a direction under section 24, the authority is to be treated for the purposes of section 30(8) of that Act as not having made the calculations required by Chapter 3 of Part 1 of that Act.
(6) If an authority includes financial reserves in a calculation under section 43(3) of that Act in contravention of a direction under section 24, the authority is to be treated for the purposes of section 40(7) of that Act as not having made the calculations required by Chapter 4 of Part 1 of that Act.
(1) The Secretary of State may by order—
(a) substitute another sum for any sum for the time being specified in section 24(1);
(b) substitute another date for the date for the time being specified in section 27(1) and (3).
(2) An order under this section may include transitional or saving provision.
(1) In this Chapter—
“local authority” means a county council in England, a district council in England or a London borough council;
“relevant authority” has the meaning given by section 24(2).
(2) References in this Chapter to disposing of land include references to—
(a) granting or disposing of any interest in land;
(b) entering into a contract to dispose of land or grant or dispose of any such interest;
(c) granting an option to acquire any land or any such interest.