Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980
Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980
1980 CHAPTER 65
An Act to relax controls over local and certain other authorities; to amend the law relating to the publication of information, the undertaking of works and the payment of allowances by local authorities and other bodies; to make further provision with respect to rates and to grants for local authorities and other persons and for controlling the expenditure of local authorities; to amend the law relating to planning; to make provision for a register of public land and the disposal of land on it; to repeal the Community Land Act 1975; to continue the Land Authority for Wales; to make further provision in relation to land compensation, development land, derelict land and public bodies' acquisitions and disposals of land; to amend the law relating to town development and new towns; to provide for the establishment of corporations to regenerate urban areas; to make further provision in relation to gipsies and their caravan sites; to abolish the Clean Air Councils and certain restrictions on the Greater London Council; to empower certain further authorities to confer honorary distinctions; and for connected purposes.
[13th November 1980]
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—Relaxation of Controls
1 Relaxation of Ministerial control of authorities.
(1) So much of the provisions mentioned in Schedule 1 to this Act—
(a ) as makes the exercise of any power of a local authority subject—
(i) to a right of appeal to a Minister; or
(ii) to the provisions of regulations made by a Minister; or
(b ) as confers upon a Minister any power to give a local authority directions or power to require a local authority to make byelaws; or
(c ) as requires a local authority to make any report or give any notice to a Minister,
shall cease to have effect.
(2) The amendments specified in Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of limiting—
(a ) the powers of the Secretary of State and the Treasury to supervise local authorities, water authorities and river purification authorities in the discharge of their functions relating to clean air and pollution; and
(b ) the powers of the Treasury to control rates of interest on sums payable to such authorities and to the Secretary of State in respect of expenses incurred by them in the discharge of such functions.
(3) The amendments specified in Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of limiting the powers of Ministers to supervise local authorities in the discharge of their functions relating to amenity and connected matters.
(4) The amendments specified in Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of limiting the Secretary of State's powers to supervise local authorities in the discharge of their functions relating to weights and measures and to trade.
(5) The amendments specified in Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose—
(a ) of limiting the Secretary of State's powers to supervise local authorities in the discharge of their functions relating to allotments; and
(b ) of otherwise amending the enactments relating to the duties of the Secretary of State and of local authorities in relation to allotments.
(6) The amendments specified in Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of limiting the powers of Ministers to control charges to be imposed by local authorities for the services provided by them and rates of interest to which local authorities may be entitled.
(7) The amendments specified in Part I of Schedule 7 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of limiting the powers of Ministers to supervise local authorities in the discharge of their functions relating to highways.
(8) The amendments specified in Part II of that Schedule shall have effect in relation to the functions of local authorities relating to road traffic and to matters connected with those functions.
Part II
Publication of Information by Local Authorities
2 Duty of authorities to publish information.
(1) The authorities to whom this section applies are—
(a ) a county council;
(b ) a district council;
(c ) the Greater London Council;
(d ) a London borough council;
(e ) the Common Council of the City of London;
(f ) the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(g ) in Scotland, a regional, islands or district council;
(h ) a fire authority constituted by a combination scheme under section 5 or 6 of the Fire Services Act 1947 , or in Scotland, a joint committee constituted by an administration scheme under section 36 of that Act;
(j ) a police committee constituted under section 2 of the Police Act 1964 or in Scotland a police authority constituted under section 2 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 ;
(k ) a combined police authority constituted in accordance with the provisions of an amalgamation scheme under section 21 of the Police Act 1964 or in Scotland, a joint police committee constituted in accordance with the provisions of an amalgamation scheme under section 19 or 21A of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967; and
(l ) the Inner London Education Authority.
(2) The Secretary of State may issue for the purposes of this section a code of recommended practice as to the publication of information by such authorities about the discharge of their functions and other matters (including forecasts) which he considers to be related.
(3) In relation to the Inner London Education Area functions conferred on education authorities by the Education Acts 1944 to 1980 shall be treated for the purposes of this section as conferred on the Inner London Education Authority.
(4) A code may be prepared either by the Secretary of State or by some other person at his request.
(5) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise or request some other person to revise the whole or any part of a code.
(6) A code may specify—
(a ) that publication be made in periodical reports or in any other specified manner;
(b ) the occasions on which such publication is to be made; and
(c ) the form which such publication is to take.
(7) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (6) above, a code may specify, as a manner of publishing information—
(a ) its dispatch with, or inclusion in, a demand note on which a rate is levied under the General Rate Act 1967 or the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 ;
(b ) its inclusion in an abstract of accounts prepared by an authority to whom this section applies in accordance with regulations under section 166 of the Local Government Act 1972 or section 105 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973; or
(c ) its being made available for inspection by members of the public at an authority's offices or elsewhere.
(8) A code may specify steps which authorities are to take to inform the public of the availability of the information.
(9) Where a code specifies information as to the cost of the discharge of any of the functions of authorities, it may specify how the cost is to be determined.
(10) More than one code may be issued under this section, and different codes may deal with—
(a ) different classes of information;
(b ) different kinds of authority or the same kind of authority in different circumstances or different areas;
(c ) different manners, forms or occasions of publication.
3 Supplementary provisions relating to codes ofpractice on publication of information.
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations requiring authorities to whom section 2 above applies to publish any description of information specified in a code issued under that section if in his opinion it is necessary to make such regulations in order to ensure that authorities publish information of that description.
(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations requiring such authorities to publish any description of information specified in a code issued under section 2 above in the manner and form specified in the code, if in his opinion it is necessary to make such regulations in order to ensure that authorities publish information of that description in that manner and form.
(3) Where the...
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