Harrow London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Harrow in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is currently controlled by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

with 31 seats. The Labour Party is the sole opposition, with 24 seats.

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Harrow area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Harrow on 1 April 1965. Harrow London Borough Council replaced Harrow Borough Council, which was formed when Harrow was incorporated in 1954. Harrow Urban District Council was the local authority from 1934 to 1954. Harrow Urban District Council replaced Harrow on the Hill Urban District Council, Wealdstone Urban District Council and Hendon Rural District Council, including Little Stanmore Parish Council, Great Stanmore Parish Council, Harrow Weald Parish Council and Pinner Parish Council, which were all created in 1894. It was envisaged that through the London Government Act 1963 Harrow as a London local authority would share power with the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council it has been an

education authority The Education Authority ( ga, Údarás Oideachais) is a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Education (Northern Ireland), Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It was established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) ...

since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Harrow London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Since 2000 the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for

functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

and is also responsible for

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

Councillors

As of 5 May 2022, the composition of Harrow Council is 31 Conservative councillors to 24 Labour councillors:

Summary results of elections

References

External links

London Borough of Harrow website
{{Authority control Local authorities in London London borough councils Politics of the London Borough of Harrow Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England