Orders of the Day — London Government Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 December 1962.

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Photo of Sir Keith Joseph Sir Keith Joseph , Leeds North East 12:00, 10 December 1962

The Government thought it proper to give these major authorities the normal organisation of local authorities throughout the country.

The first election of councillors will be held in April, 1964, and the council will take over its functions in April, 1965. Councillors will serve for three years and will all retire together, so that there will be triennial elections. The initial representation from each borough area on the Greater London Council is set out in Part I of the First Schedule. This initial allocation was arrived at by dividing the electors in each borough by the Parliamentary allocation or quota and using the nearest whole number. The aim is that when the Parliamentary boundaries have been reviewed, each borough should be divided by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary into Greater London Council electoral divisions corresponding, normally, to Parliamentary constituencies but, until that happens, the borough will be a single electoral area as a whole for the number of seats specified.

The boroughs will be incorporated by Order. The Orders will deal with the naming and division into wards of the boroughs, and on both these matters we shall, of course, have full consultation with the local authorities. The new borough councils, which are to have not more than 60 councillors—and, again, one alderman for six councillors—will be elected in May, 1964, and thereafter elections will be held triennially.

We have taken up the Royal Commission's valuable proposal that the G.L.C. should establish an Intelligence Department, with wide powers to collect the information needed as a basis for planning the London services.

I should like now to deal with one or two criticisms of our proposals. It is said, quite wrongly, that what we are doing will damage the fine Architect's Department of the London County Council. Nothing could be further from the truth. The G.L.C. will have extensive building responsibility in providing for overspill, in supplementing the boroughs housing efforts, and in carrying out major schemes of redevelopment. Provision is made for it to take over and complete the present L.C.C. programme. The Greater London Council's Architect's Department will be responsible for serving the Inner London Education Authority, and there is here a fine opportunity for carrying forward the very high standards—