London Government Act 1963
London Government Act 1963
1963 CHAPTER 33
An Act to make provision with respect to local government and the functions of local authorities in the metropolitan area; to assimilate certain provisions of the Local Government Act 1933 to provisions for corresponding purposes contained in the London Government Act 1939; to make an adjustment of the metropolitan police district; and for connected purposes.
[31st July 1963]
Be 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 Government in and around Greater London
1 London boroughs.
(1) There shall be established new administrative areas, to be known as London boroughs, which shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to existing administrative areas) in column 2 of Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act; and in this and any other Act—
(a ) any reference to an inner London borough shall be construed as a reference to one of the London boroughs numbered from 1 to 12 in the said Part I;
(b ) any reference to an outer London borough shall be construed as a reference to one of the London boroughs numbered from 13 to 32 in the said Part I.
(2) If in the case of any London borough, on representations in that behalf made to the Privy Council by the Minister, Her Majesty by the advice of Her Privy Council thinks fit to grant a charter of incorporation of the inhabitants of that borough, Her Majesty may by that charter—
(a ) make provision with respect to the name of the borough; and
(b ) subject to the provisions of this Act, make any provision such as may be made by virtue of section 131 of the Local Government Act 1933 by a charter granted under Part VI of that Act;
and any charter which purports to be granted in pursuance of the Royal prerogative and this subsection shall be deemed to be valid and within the powers of this Act and Her Majesty's prerogative and the validity thereof shall not be questioned in any legal proceeding whatever.
(3) In the case of any London borough whose inhabitants are not incorporated by such a charter as is referred to in the last foregoing subsection, provision for their incorporation shall be made by the Minister by order (hereafter in this Act referred to as an ‘incorporation order’) which may include any such provision as is mentioned in paragraph (a ) or (b ) of that subsection.
(4) The provisions of Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of the revocation or alteration of the provisions with respect to the matters mentioned in paragraph 1 of the said Part III of any charter or incorporation order under subsection (2) or (3) of this section; but nothing in any such charter or order or in any order under the said Part III shall authorise the number of councillors of any London borough to exceed sixty.
(5) Before the Minister makes as respects a London borough either representations under subsection (2) of this section for the grant of a charter or an incorporation order under subsection (3) thereof, the Minister or, as may be appropriate, the Secretary of State shall cause such notices to be given and such, if any, inquiries to be held with respect to the matters to be dealt with by the charter or order as may appear to the Minister or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State to be expedient.
(6) The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 shall apply to every London borough and section 15 of the Interpretation Act 1889 shall have effect accordingly, that is to say, the expression ‘borough’ when used in relation to local government in any enactment whether passed before or after this Act (and in particular, subject to section 8 (2) of this Act, in the Local Government Act 1933) shall except where the context otherwise requires (and except in particular in the expressions ‘county borough’ and ‘non-county borough’) include a London borough; and the council of a London borough shall be a local authority within the meaning of the said Act of 1933.
(7) The first election of councillors of each London borough shall be held, under arrangements to be made by its charter or incorporation order, on the day in May 1964 fixed by the Secretary of State as the day of election of borough councillors in England and Wales; and the persons declared to be elected councillors at that election shall come into office on the fourth day after the day of election.
2 Greater London and the Greater London Council,
(1) The area comprising the areas of the London boroughs, the City and the Temples shall constitute an administrative area to be known as Greater London.
(2) There shall be established for Greater London a council consisting of a chairman, aldermen and councillors which shall be a body corporate under the name of the Greater London Council with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall have all such functions as are vested in that Council by this Act or otherwise.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the Greater London Council may with the consent of the Minister change the name of the Council or the name by which the area referred to in the said subsection (1) is to be known or both those names, or make provision as to the titles by which the chairman, vice-chairman and any deputy chairman of the Council are to be known, and any change of name made in pursuance of this subsection shall take effect as from such date as the Minister may by order appoint; and any such order—
(a ) shall not affect any rights or obligations of any council, authority or person, and
(b ) shall not be taken as invalidating any instrument (whether made before or after the date appointed by the order) which refers to the Council or the said area by the previous name,
but the new name shall be substituted for the previous name in all enactments relating to the Council or, as the case may be, that area and in all instruments and legal proceedings made or commenced before the said date which refer to that previous name, so, however, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting the title of any Act or instrument.
(4) The provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and general functions of the Greater London Council; and the first election of councillors of that Council shall be held on 9th April 1964, and the persons declared elected at that election shall come into office on the fourth day after the day of election.
3 Local government areas in and around Greater London.
(1) As from 1st April 1965—
(a ) no part of Greater London shall form part of any administrative county, county district or parish;
(b ) the following administrative areas and their councils (and, in the case of a borough, the municipal corporation thereof) shall cease to exist, that is to say, the counties of London and Middlesex, the metropolitan boroughs, and any existing county borough, county district or parish the area of which falls wholly within Greater London;
(c ) the urban district of Potters Bar shall become part of the county of Hertfordshire;
(d ) the urban districts of Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames shall become part of the county of Surrey.
(2) As from the passing of this Act, in the Local Government Act 1958—
(a ) in sections 17 (1) and 53 (1), for any reference to the metropolitan area there shall be substituted a reference to Greater London;
(b ) section 53 (2) shall cease to have effect;
(c ) in section 28, subsection (6) shall cease to have effect, but—
(i) subsection (1) shall not apply to the county of London or of Middlesex;
(ii) no county review under that section shall extend to any part of Greater London;
(iii) subject to any order under section 23 or 24, any such review by the Hertfordshire county council shall extend to the urban district of Potters Bar and any such review by the Surrey county council shall extend to the urban districts of Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames;
(d ) in relation to a county district to which Part III applies as from the date of the passing of this Act only by virtue of this subsection, that date shall be deemed to be specified in sections 47 (3) and 52 (2) as a further day on which the periods mentioned in those provisions may begin.
4 General provisions as to exercise in Greater London of existing local authority functions.
(1) Subject to any provision to the contrary effect made by, or by any instrument made under, this Act or any other Act passed during the same session as this Act (and in particular any provision conferring functions on the Greater London Council), and without prejudice to any express provision so made, the provisions of this section (being provisions designed to confer on the councils of London boroughs as respects their boroughs and on the Common Council as respects the City the functions exercisable by the councils of county boroughs as respects their...
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