Local Government Act 1958 - The Act

The Act

• Part I of the Act dealt with the finance of councils, in particular it introduced a general grant, payable to all councils, and a rate-deficiency grant for those councils whose area had lower than average per capita rates income. These measures replaced a number of earlier separate grants for different services, which reflected the increasing number of services being provided by local authorities. These grants were later replaced with the rate support grant by the General Rate Act 1967. Part I also dealt with the rating of the nationalised gas and electricity undertakings.

• Part II of the Act dealt with reviews of local government areas. It established a Local Government Commission for England who were charged with reviewing the organisation of local government in five special review areas, and also had the power to make reviews elsewhere in England outside a defined metropolitan area. A similar Local Government Commission for Wales (including Monmouthshire) was also formed, although no special review areas were designated in Wales. Each county council in England and Wales was required to make a review of the local government in its area. However, they were not empowered to make any proposals in any place included in a special review area, or in the metropolitan area. As the entire County of London was included in the metropolitan area, the London County Council was excluded from making reviews. If the county council, in the opinion of the Minister of Health, had failed to carry out a proper review, he could ask the relevant local government commission to carry out one. Local authorities were prohibited from promoting any private bill to parliament "forming any new area of local government, or for altering, or altering the status of, any area of local government" for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of the Act. Finally, the population required for the formation of a new county borough was increased from 75,000 to 100,000.

• Part III allowed county councils to delegate certain powers in relation to health, welfare and education to borough, rural or urban district councils.

• Part IV dealt with general and supplementary provisions of the Act. One section in this part of the Act - Section 59 - allowed the council of a county or county borough to change the name of the borough or county by agreement with the Minister for Health. This section was quickly used by Southampton County Council, which changed the administrative county's name (and therefore the council's name) to Hampshire from 1 April 1959. The power to change the name of urban and rural districts and of civil parishes remained with the county council under the Local Government Act 1894.