The Local Government Act 1933 was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that consolidated and revised existing legislation that regulated local government in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(except the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

) and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It remained the principal legislation regulating local government until the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

took effect in 1974.

Powers of local authorities

Although local authorities acquired few new powers or duties, the Act did include a few innovations: *One section dealt with custody of records, and led to the establishment of county record offices *It became easier for local authorities to form joint committees where they had a common interest *A council could acquire land outside of its area in order to perform its functions *County councils could agree to exchange areas of land to form more efficient boundaries *Rural and urban district councils, previously elected annually by thirds, could opt for elections of the whole council, triennially.

Administrative areas and local authorities

Although the 1933 Act did not create new local government areas, it repealed most of the Local Government Acts of 1888 and 1894, and parts of the

Municipal Corporations Act 1882 The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c.50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaced existing legislation governing municipal boroughs in England and Wales, and gave the corporations powers to make byelaws and ...

, and reestablished the existing councils and administrative areas. Section 1 stated: :(1) For the purposes of local government, England and Wales (exclusive of London) shall be divided into

administrative counties An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

and

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

s, and administrative counties shall be divided into county districts, being either non-county

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s or

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

s, and county boroughs and county districts shall consist of one or more

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. :(2) Subject to any alteration of boundaries or the constitution of new authorities which may take effect after the passing of this Act-- ::(a) the administrative counties shall be the administrative counties which are named in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act; ::(b) the county boroughs shall be the boroughs which are named in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act; ::(c) the non-county boroughs shall be the boroughs which are named in Part III of the First Schedule to this Act; ::(d) the urban districts shall be the urban districts other than boroughs existing at the passing of this Act; ::(e) the rural districts shall be the rural districts existing at the passing of this Act; and ::(f) the parishes shall be the urban parishes which at the passing of this Act are comprised in boroughs or urban districts, and the rural parishes which at the passing of this Act are comprised in rural districts. :(3) Every county borough shall, with respect to the functions which the council of the borough discharge, form a separate administrative area. The term "non-county boroughs" was introduced in preference to "municipal borough" as county boroughs were also legally municipal boroughs. The councils for each of these various areas were to be known by the generic term of "local authorities" in this and subsequent legislation. The actual titles of the councils remained the same: *X county council (or council of the county of X) for administrative counties *The mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Y (or (lord) mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Z) for boroughs *W urban district council (or urban district council of W) *V rural district council (or rural district council of V) Rural parishes were governed by parish councils or parish meetings.

Local government areas listed in the Act

Administrative counties (a) England (exclusive of London) (b) Wales County boroughs (a) England (b) Wales Non-county boroughs (a) England (b) Wales

Amendment and repeal

The 1933 Act was amended by the

Local Government Act 1958 The Local Government Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz.2 c.55) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local Government Commissio ...

. The local authorities as defined in the Act, with the exception of rural parishes, were abolished in 1974, by the

, when most of the Act was repealed. Parts of the Act still have currency, however. For example, many council byelaws now in force are made under section 249 of the Act.

References

Notes

Sources

* Local Government Act 1933 {{Civil parishes in England United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1933 Local government legislation in England and Wales Boroughs of the United Kingdom