Local Government and Housing Act 1989
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Local Government andHousing Act 1989
1989 CHAPTER 42
An Act to make provision with respect to the members, officers and other staff and the procedure of local authorities; to amend Part III of the Local Government Act 1974 and Part II of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 and to provide for a national code of local government conduct; to make further provision about the finances and expenditure of local authorities (including provision with respect to housing subsidies) and about companies in which local authorities have interests; to make provision for and in connection with renewal areas, grants towards the cost of improvement and repair of housing accommodation and the carrying out of works of maintenance, repair and improvement; to amend the Housing Act 1985 and Part III of the Local Government Finance Act 1982; to make amendments of and consequential upon Parts I, II and IV of the Housing Act 1988; to amend the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 and certain enactments relating, as respects Scotland, to rating and valuation, and to provide for the making of grants; to make provision with respect to the imposition of charges by local authorities; to make further provision about certain existing grants and about financial assistance to and planning by local authorities in respect of emergencies; to amend sections 102 and 211 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973; to amend the Local Land Charges Act 1975; to enable local authorities in Wales to be known solely by Welsh language names; to provide for the transfer of new town housing stock; to amend certain of the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 relating to a secure tenant's right to purchase his house; to amend section 47 of the Race Relations Act 1976; to confer certain powers on the Housing Corporation, Housing for Wales and Scottish Homes; to make provision about security of tenure for certain tenants under long tenancies; to provide for the making of grants and giving of guarantees in respect of certain activities carried on in relation to the construction industry; to provide for the repeal of certain enactments relating to improvement notices, town development and education support grants; to make, as respects Scotland, further provision in relation to the phasing of progression to registered rent for houses let by housing associations or Scottish Homes and in relation to the circumstances in which rent increases under assured tenancies may be secured; and for connected purposes.
[16th November 1989]
B e it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Local Authority Members, Officers, Staff and Committeesetc.
Political restriction of officers and staff
1 Disqualification and political restriction of certain officers and staff.
(1) A person shall be disqualified from becoming (whether by election or otherwise) or remaining a member of a local authority if he holds a politically restricted post under that local authority or any other local authority in Great Britain.
(2) In the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 , in Part III of Schedule 1 (other disqualifying offices) there shall be inserted at the appropriate place—
‘Person holding a politically restricted post, within the meaning of Part I of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, under a local authority, within the meaning of that Part.’
(3) In section 80 of the Local Government Act 1972 (disqualification for election and holding office as member of local authority)—
(a) in subsection (1)(a) (paid office holders and employees), the words ‘joint board, joint authority or’ shall be omitted; and
(b) in subsection (6) (extension of meaning of ‘local authority’), after the word ‘includes’ there shall be inserted ‘a joint board and’.
(4) In section 31 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (which makes corresponding provision for Scotland)—
(a) in subsection (1)(a)(ii), the words ‘or joint board’ shall be omitted; and
(b) after subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
(1A) A person is disqualified for being a member of a joint board if he or a partner of his holds any paid office or employment (other than the office of chairman or vice-chairman of the board) or other place of profit in the gift or disposal of the board.’
(5) The terms of appointment or conditions of employment of every person holding a politically restricted post under a local authority (including persons appointed to such posts before the coming into force of this section) shall be deemed to incorporate such requirements for restricting his political activities as may be prescribed for the purposes of this subsection by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(6) Regulations under subsection (5) above may contain such incidental provision and such supplemental, consequential and transitional provision in connection with their other provisions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate and, without prejudice to section 190(1) below, may contain such exceptions for persons appointed in pursuance of section 9 below as he thinks fit.
(7) So far as it has effect in relation to disqualification for election, this section has effect with respect to any election occurring not less than two months after the coming into force of this section and, so far as it relates to becoming in any other way a member of a local authority, this section has effect with respect to any action which, apart from this section, would result in a person becoming a member of the authority not less than two months after the coming into force of this section.
(8) If, immediately before the expiry of the period of two months referred to in subsection (7) above, a person who is a member of a local authority holds a politically restricted post under that or any other local authority, nothing in this section shall apply to him until the expiry of the period for which he was elected or for which he otherwise became a member of the authority.
2 Politically restricted posts.
(1) The following persons are to be regarded for the purposes of this Part as holding politically restricted posts under a local authority—
(a) the person designated under section 4 below as the head of the authority's paid service;
(b) the statutory chief officers;
(c) a non-statutory chief officer;
(d) a deputy chief officer;
(e) the monitoring officer designated under section 5 below;
(f) any person holding a post to which he was appointed in pursuance of section 9 below; and
(g) any person not falling within paragraphs (a) to (f) above whose post is for the time being specified by the authority in a list maintained in accordance with subsection (2) below and any directions under section 3 below or with section 100G(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 or section 50G(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (list of officers to whom powers are delegated).
(2) It shall be the duty of every local authority to prepare and maintain a list of such of the following posts under the authority, namely—
(a) the full time posts the annual rate of remuneration in respect of which is or exceeds 19,500 or such higher amount as may be specified in or determined under regulations made by the Secretary of State;
(b) the part time posts the annual rate of remuneration in respect of which would be or exceed that amount if they were full time posts in respect of which remuneration were paid at the same rate as for the part time post; and
(c) posts not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above the duties of which appear to the authority to fall within subsection (3) below,
as are not posts for the time being exempted under section 3 below, posts for the time being listed under section 100G(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 or section 50G(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 or posts of a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this subsection.
(3) The duties of a post under a local authority fall within this subsection if they consist in or involve one or both of the following, that is to...
To continue reading
Request your trial