Royal Commission On Local Government in Greater London - Terms of Reference and Area Under Review

Terms of Reference and Area Under Review

The Commission’s terms of reference were to: “examine the present system and working of Local Government in the Greater London area; to recommend whether any, and if so what, changes in local government structure and the distribution of local government functions in the area, or any part of it, would better secure effective and convenient local government.”

The review area was:

• Administrative County of London
• Administrative County of Middlesex
• The county boroughs of Croydon, East Ham and West Ham
• The following county districts in the county of Surrey:
  • The boroughs of Barnes, Beddington and Wallington, Epsom and Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Malden and Coombe, Mitcham, Richmond, Surbiton, Sutton and Cheam and Wimbledon
  • The urban districts of Banstead, Carshalton, Caterham and Warlingham, Coulsdon and Purley, Esher, Merton and Morden and Walton and Weybridge,
• The following county districts in the county of Kent:
  • The boroughs of Beckenham, Bexley, Bromley, Dartford and Erith
  • The urban districts of Chislehurst and Sidcup, Crayford, Orpington and Penge,
• The following county districts and parishes in the county of Hertford,
  • The borough of Watford,
  • The urban districts of Barnet, Bushey, Cheshunt, Chorleywood, East Barnet and Rickmansworth,
  • The rural district of Elstree
  • The parish of Northaw in the rural district of Hatfield
  • The parishes of Aldenham and Watford Rural in the rural district of Watford,
• The following county districts in the county of Essex:
  • The boroughs of Barking, Chingford, Dagenham, Ilford, Leyton, Romford, Walthamstow and Wanstead and Woodford
  • The urban districts of Chigwell, Hornchurch and Waltham Holy Cross.

The existing local authorities varied widely in population and size: the six county councils or county boroughs in the metropolitan area had similar responsibilities, yet the number of inhabitants in their areas under their control varied from over 3,000,000 to 110,000. There were 102 county districts within the review area and these also varied greatly: some had larger populations and rateable value than existing county boroughs, while others had only a few thousand residents. Outside of the County of London the division of functions between county councils and county districts was also unclear: some districts enjoyed considerable independence with a range of delegated “county” powers, while similar districts did not. There were no set criteria for such delegation, which instead came about because of “fortuitous historical, political and personal factors”, a situation leading to “serious administrative friction” in some counties.