The Buckinghamshire (Structural Changes) Order 2019
| Year | 2019 |
2019 No. 957
Local Government, England
The Buckinghamshire (Structural Changes) Order 2019
Made 22th May 2019
Coming into force in accordance with article 1
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 7, 11, 12 and 13 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 20071(“the 2007 Act”).
This Order implements a proposal, submitted to the Secretary of State under section 22of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, that there should be a single tier of local government for Buckinghamshire. That proposal was made by Buckinghamshire County Council.
A draft of this Order was laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament in accordance with section 240(6) of the 2007 Act.
PART 1
GENERAL
Citation and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Buckinghamshire (Structural Changes) Order 2019 and comes into force on the day after the day on which the Order is made.
Interpretation
2. In this Order
“the 1972 Act” means the Local Government Act 19723;
“the 1989 Act” means the Local Government and Housing Act 19894;
“the 2000 Act” means the Local Government Act 20005;
“the 2007 Act” means the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007;
“Buckinghamshire” except in the first mention of that word in article 3(1) and in the mention in articles 3(3), 18(2)(a) and 19(a) means the county of Buckinghamshire;
“the county council” means the council of the county of Buckinghamshire;
“the 2020 election” means the election required by article 18(1) to be held in 2020;
“the 2020 election day” means the ordinary day of election of councillors in 20206;
“the districts” means the districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe;
“the district councils” means Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council;
“the Implementation Team” means the team required to be formed under article 17(1);
“shadow authority” means an authority (not being a local authority) which will become a local authority on 1st April 2020;
“shadow executive” has the meaning given in article 6(1)(b);
“the shadow period” means the period beginning with the day on which this Order comes into force and ending on the fourth day after the 2020 election day.
PART 2
ESTABLISHMENT OF SINGLE TIER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
Single tier of local government in Buckinghamshire
3.—(1) A new non-metropolitan district to be known as Buckinghamshire is constituted, being coterminous with Buckinghamshire and comprising the areas of the district councils.
(2) In relation to Buckinghamshire section 2(1) of the 1972 Act (which provides that every county shall have a council) does not apply.
(3) A new district council, to be known as Buckinghamshire Council, is established as the sole principal authority for the non-metropolitan district of Buckinghamshire.
(4) Except for the purposes of Part 4 of this Order (electoral matters), until 1st April 2020—
(a)
(a) Buckinghamshire Council is not a local authority for the purposes of the 1972 Act or for any other enactment relating to local government; and
(b)
(b) subsection (2) of section 2 of the 1972 Act (constitution of principal councils in England) has effect in relation to that council, as if the words from “and the council” to the end of that subsection were omitted.
Buckinghamshire County Council, the District Councils and their councillors
4.—(1) On 1st April 2020—
(a)
(a) the districts are abolished as local government areas; and
(b)
(b) the county council and the district councils are wound up and dissolved.
(2) The term of office of persons serving as councillors of the county council and the district councils immediately before 1st April 2020 ends on that date.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), nothing in section 89 of the 1972 Act (filling of casual vacancies in case of councillors) authorises the holding of an election to fill a casual vacancy in the office of councillor of the county council or district councils where that vacancy arises after 30th September 2019 and before 1st April 2020.
(4) Where, on the occurrence of a vacancy mentioned in paragraph (3) or in the case of a number of simultaneous vacancies, the total number of unfilled vacancies in the membership of the county council or district council (as the case may be) exceeds one third of the whole number of members of that council an election to fill the vacancy shall be held in accordance with section 89 of the 1972 Act.
(5) Where, in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (4), the declaration mentioned in section 89(1)(a) has been made or the notice in writing mentioned in section 89(1)(b) of the 1972 Act has been given within thirty-five days of 1st April 2020 (computed in accordance with section 243(4) of the 1972 Act) an election shall not be held and any proceedings required by the Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 20067shall not be commenced.
PART 3
SHADOW AUTHORITY, ITS TRANSITIONAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR DISCHARGE
Buckinghamshire Council as Shadow Authority
5.—(1) During the shadow period Buckinghamshire Council is a shadow authority for the purposes of the following provisions of this Part.
(2) Subject to paragraph (6), the members of the shadow authority are the persons who, on the coming into force of this Order, are—
(a)
(a) councillors of the county council; and
(b)
(b) councillors of the district councils.
(3) Those persons are to be members of the shadow authority throughout the shadow period notwithstanding the dissolution of the county council and the district councils on 1st April 2020.
(4) The proper officer of the county council must convene, and make all necessary arrangements for, the first meeting of the shadow authority, which is to be held not later than 14 days after the coming into force of this Order.
(5) The proper officer of Wycombe District Council shall act as the deputy to the proper officer of the county council in relation to the discharge of the duty under paragraph (4), discharging such functions as the proper officer of the county council may delegate.
(6) Where, after the coming into force of this Order and before 1stOctober 2019 or in the circumstances mentioned in article 4(4), a casual vacancy arises in any electoral division of the county council or any ward of the district councils, the person elected at a by-election held to fill the vacancy is to be a member of the shadow authority.
(7) All questions coming or arising before the shadow authority shall be decided by a majority of the members of the authority present and voting at a meeting of the authority.
Duties of shadow authority: executive arrangements, code of conduct and members’ allowances
6.—(1) At its first meeting, the shadow authority must—
(a)
(a) elect the chairman of the shadow authority;
(b)
(b) in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (12), create a leader and cabinet executive within the meaning of Part 1A of the Local Government Act 20008(arrangements with respect to local authority governance) (“the shadow executive”).
(2) Section 9C of the 2000 Act (local authority executives) has effect, for the purposes of paragraph (1), as if subsection (5) were omitted; and the shadow executive is to consist of—
(a)
(a) the person who is the leader for the time being of the county council’s executive;
(b)
(b) eight persons nominated by the county council, each of whom is for the time being a councillor of that council;
(c)
(c) two persons nominated by each of the district councils, each of whom is for the time being a member of the nominating council.
(3) The leader of the shadow executive is the person who is the leader for the time being of the county council’s executive unless the shadow executive decides that another member of the shadow executive is to be the leader of that executive.
(4) Subsection (3)(a) of section 9C of the 2000 Act has effect, for the purposes of paragraph (3), as if, for the words “elected as leader of the executive by the authority” there were substituted “who is the leader for the time being of Buckinghamshire County Council’s executive, unless the shadow executive created under article 6 of the Buckinghamshire (Structural Changes) Order 20199decides that another member of the shadow executive is to be the leader of that executive”.
(5) Section 9IA of the 2000 Act has effect, for the purposes of paragraph (3), as if, in each place in which it occurs, for “council” there were substituted “executive”.
(6) At the first meeting of the shadow executive the members of that executive nominated by the district councils in accordance with paragraph (2)(c) must elect one person from among their number to act as the deputy leader of the shadow executive.
(7) Except for the election of the deputy leader in accordance with paragraph (6), all questions coming or arising before the shadow executive shall be decided by a majority of the members of the shadow executive (including the leader of the shadow executive) present and voting at a meeting of the executive and the leader shall not have a second...
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