• Research Briefing

    Local Government Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report [Bill No 75 of 2010-11]

    This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Bill. It complements Research Paper 10/63 which was prepared for Commons Second Reading. The Bill gives effect to the Coalition Government’s commitment to stop the restructuring of councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon. Specifically, it would prevent implementation of any of the existing proposals for single-tier local government made under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. No amendments were made to the Bill in committee.

  • Research Briefing

    Local Government Bill [HL] Bill No 75 of 2010-11

    The Bill gives effect to the Coalition Government’s commitment to stop the restructuring of councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon. Specifically the Bill would prevent implementation of any of the existing proposals for a single-tier local government structure made under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The Bill completed its passage through the House of Lords and was introduced into the House of Commons on 11 October 2010. This briefing was prepared to inform the Second Reading debate on the Bill.

  • Research Briefing

    Local elections 2010

    This paper summarises the results of the local and mayoral elections held on 6 May 2010. Elections were held in all 32 London boroughs, 36 metropolitan boroughs, 20 unitary authorities, and 76 shire districts. Labour had a net gain of 17 councils, the Conservatives a net loss of seven and the Liberal Democrats a net loss of one. Four incumbent mayors were re-elected: in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Lewisham and Newham (all Labour), and in Watford (Liberal Democrat). The UK General Election was held on the same day.

  • Research Briefing

    Council Tax 2010/11

    This note contains key statistics on council tax levels in 2010/11 and a limited amount of analysis is provided. The main purpose of this note is to act as a reference document although more detailed analysis is available on request.

  • Research Briefing

    Local Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny) Bill 2009-10: Committee Stage Report

    This is a report of the Committee Stage of the Bill. It complements Research Paper 10/09, which gives more detail on the provisions of the Bill. The Bill strengthens local government overview and scrutiny committee powers in relation to partner organisations, so that they could potentially cover a greater range of external authorities. The Bill has Government support and was not amended in Committee.

  • Research Briefing

    Councillors and Council Control: 1979-2009

    The following note looks at the number of councillors by party in Great Britain since 1979. In 2009 there were around 4,700 fewer councillors in Great Britain than in 1979. This is as a result of numerous changes to the structure of local authorities, particularly the introduction of unitary authorities in Wales and Scotland in 1995, when the number of councillors fell by 1,605. In 2009 the Conservatives are 5,270 councillors better off compared to 1996 when they had 4,276 councillors. Labour has less than half the number of councillors compared to 1996 (11,000). The Conservatives have also seen a gradual increase in the number of councils it controlled in England since 1998 when they had 24 compared to 209 in 2009. Labour on the other hand had seen a steady decrease since 1998 when they controlled 140 councils to the current level of 37 councils in 2009.

  • Research Briefing

    Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill [Bill 21 of 2009-10]

    The Bill seeks to amend the 2007 Act by setting a deadline for the Secretary of State to initiate the next round of proposals for enhancing the sustainability of local communities from local authorities under the Act. It provides for regulations to be made specifying the rules for this process. These are also to cover parish council involvement and the role of local petitioning. There is also provision for greater flexibility in decision-making on proposals.

  • Research Briefing

    Local Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny) Bill [Bill 16 of 2009-10]

    The Bill is based on proposals in the 2009 Communities and Local Government Green Paper 'Strengthening Local Democracy'. The Bill strengthens local government overview and scrutiny committee powers in relation to partner organisations, so that they could potentially cover a greater range of external authorities. The activities which would be subject to such scrutiny are defined as matters of local concern in the area. The Bill provides for executive members to sit on committees involved in scrutiny of external bodies. It also makes provision for the resourcing of overview and scrutiny.

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