Local Government Board
Act of Parliament | |
Dates | |
---|---|
Royal assent | 14 August 1871 |
Status: Repealed |
The Local Government Board (LGB) was a
The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871
In 1919 the LGB was converted into a new department called the Ministry of Health.
Membership
The board was headed by a
In addition the board had a number of
Officers
The Local Government Board was permitted to appoint such secretaries, assistant secretaries, inspectors, auditors, clerks, messengers, "and other officers" as they deemed fit, subject to the approval of the
Powers and duties
The purpose of the LGB was stated to be "the supervision of the laws relating to the public health, the relief of the poor, and local government". The act establishing the board listed the duties transferred from existing authorities under various acts of parliament:
- Transferred from the Home Office:
- Registration of births, deaths, and marriages (Births and Deaths Registration Act 1837)
- Public health (Public Health Act 1848)
- Local government (Local Government Act 1858, Local Government Act (1858) Amendment Act 1861, Local Government Amendment Act 1863)
- Drainage and sanitary matters (Sewage Utilization Act 1865, Sanitary Act 1866, Sewage Utilization Act 1867, Sanitary Act 1868, Sanitary Loans Act 1869)
- Baths and wash-houses (Baths and Washhouses Act 1846, Baths and Washhouses Act 1847)
- Public improvements (Public Improvements Act 1860)
- Towns improvement (Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847)
- Artisans and labourers' dwellings (Artisans and Labourers' Dwellings Act 1868)
- Returns of local taxation (Local Taxation Returns Act 1861)
- Registration of births, deaths, and marriages (
- Transferred from the Privy Council:
- Prevention of Disease (Nuisances Removal Act 1860, Sanitary Act 1866, Sanitary Act 1868)
- Vaccination (Vaccination Act 1867)
- Prevention of Disease (
- Transferred from the Poor Law Board
- All powers and duties vested in or imposed on the Poor Law Board by the several Acts of Parliament relating to the relief of the poor.
In 1872 the board received further responsibilities, when the Home Office transferred administration of the Turnpike and Highway Acts, Metropolitan Water Act 1852 and the Alkali Act 1863 to the LGB.[2]
Work of the board
The LGB carried out its work in the following ways:[2]
Delegated legislation
The board was empowered to make general orders and regulations enforcing the various statutes for which it was responsible. These orders and regulations had the same force of law as those made by a secretary of state.
Inspection and regulation
The LGB had broad powers of regulation of the bodies under its control. The board's inspectors were able to visit local authorities and ensure that they were performing satisfactorily. They could also act as a medium for resolving disputes between local bodies and ratepayers or other interests.
Provisional orders
The board possessed quasi-judicial powers, being able to make legally binding decisions on the bodies under its supervision. Examples included the changing of boundaries, raising of loans or the taking on of additional powers. These provisional orders were subject to confirmation by Parliament.
Auditing and accountability
The board compiled and published financial summaries for each local authority annually. It also appointed district auditors and supplied such statistics as might be required by parliament.
Abolition
The
See also
- Local Government Board for Scotland, a similar body in Scotland from 1894 – 1919
- Local Government Board for Ireland, established in 1872 and abolished in 1922.
References
- Local Government Board Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict.c.70)
- 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 19)
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 839.
- ^ a b c Bellamy, Christine (1988). Administering Central-local Relations, 1871-1919: The Local Government Board in Its Fiscal and Cultural Context. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
External links
- Maltbie, Milo R. (June 1898). "The English Local Government Board". Political Science Quarterly. 13 (2). Academy of Political Science: 232–258. JSTOR 2140168.