The Local Government Board (LGB) was a

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

supervisory body overseeing local administration in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is ...

from 1871 to 1919. The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 (C. 70) and took over the public health and local government responsibilities of the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

and the Privy Council and all the functions of the Poor Law Board, which was abolished. In 1919 the LGB was converted into a new department called the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

Membership

The board was headed by a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...

. The president was permitted to hold a seat and vote in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, and the position was generally held by a cabinet minister. In addition the board had a number of '' ex officio'' members consisting of the Lord President of the Council, the Principal Secretaries of State, the Lord Privy Seal and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The ''ex officio'' members were not paid a salary. The board itself seldom met, with policy being decided by the president of the board. He was assisted by a Parliamentary Secretary (also a member of the Commons), and a permanent secretary (a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

). The practical work of the LGB was carried out by its salaried officers.

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

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or ...

. Salaries paid to officers were required to be confirmed by

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

. On the formation of the LGB, the existing staff of the Poor Law Board, the Local Government Act Office and the Medical Department of the Privy Council were transferred to the new body.Christine Bellamy, ''Administering Central-local Relations, 1871-1919: The Local Government Board in Its Fiscal and Cultural Context'', Manchester, 1988

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 1836, Births and Deaths Registration Act 1837) **Public health (

Public Health Act 1848 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...

) **Local government (

Local Government Act 1858 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

, 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 wash houses available for public use in Britain were first established in Liverpool. St. George's Pier Head salt-water baths were opened in 1828 by the Corporation of Liverpool, with the first known warm fresh-water public wash house b ...

, Baths and Washhouses Act 1847) **Public improvements (

Public Improvements Act 1860 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

) **Towns improvement (

Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

) **Artisans and labourers' dwellings (

Artisans and Labourers' Dwellings Act 1868 An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

) **Returns of local taxation ( Local Taxation Returns Act 1861) *Transferred from the Privy Council: **Prevention of Disease (

Diseases Prevention Act 1855 A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

Public Health Act 1858 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

Public Health Act 1859 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

, Nuisances Removal Act 1860, Sanitary Act 1866, Sanitary Act 1868) **Vaccination (

Vaccination Act 1867 The UK Vaccination Acts of 1840, 1853, 1867 and 1898 were a series of legislative Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom regarding the vaccination policy of the country. Provisions The 1840 Act The Vaccination Act 1840: * Made var ...

) *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 Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

and the

Alkali Act 1863 The Alkali Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict c 124) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the Alkali Act 1863, an alkali inspector and four subinspectors were appointed to curb discharge into the air of muriatic acid gas ( gaseous hy ...

to the LGB.

Work of the board

The LGB carried out its work in the following ways:

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 Ministry of Health Act 1919 abolished the Local Government Board, and all of its powers and duties were transferred to a new department called the

, which also combined the duties of the Insurance Commissioners, the Welsh Insurance Commissioners, the medical duties of the Board of Education, the duties of the Privy Council under the Midwives Acts, and the powers of the Home Secretary in relation to the

Children Act 1908 The Children Act 1908, also known as the Children and Young Persons Act 1908, passed by the Liberal government, as part of the British Liberal Party's liberal reforms package. The Act was informally known as the Children's Charter and largely sup ...

. Most of the Local Government Board staff transferred to the new ministry.

References

*Local Government Board Act 1871 (c.70) *Ministry of Health Act 1919 (c.21)

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 1871 establishments in the United Kingdom 1919 disestablishments History of local government in England Local government in Wales Poor Law in Britain and Ireland