Misplaced Pages

#538461

76-531: Durham County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham in North East England. The council is a unitary authority , being a non-metropolitan county council which also performs the functions of a non-metropolitan district council. It has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham . The council has been under no overall control since the 2021 election , being run by

152-495: A Mayor of London and 25-member London Assembly . The first mayoral and assembly elections took place in 2000. The former Leader of the Greater London Council , Ken Livingstone , served as the inaugural Mayor, until he was defeated by future Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2008 . The incumbent, Sadiq Khan , was first elected in 2016 . The Mayor's functions include chairing Transport for London , holding

228-401: A charter of incorporation , constituting the area a municipal borough. The attempts to incorporate large industrial towns such as Birmingham , Bolton , Manchester and Sheffield by Whig and Radical "incorporationists" were bitterly contested by Tory "anti-incorporationists". The Tory objections to the legality of the charters led to them boycotting elections to the new boroughs until

304-453: A justice of the peace . The mayor was also required to serve as returning officer for parliamentary elections, except in those boroughs which were counties corporate , where the borough council appointed a sheriff whose duties included serving as returning officer. To fund their work the borough council was allowed to set and collect rates . Municipal boroughs were not automatically given powers to provide or maintain infrastructure under

380-465: A mayor , aldermen and councillors to oversee many local affairs. The legislation required all municipal corporations to be elected according to a standard franchise, based on property ownership. The Act reformed 178 boroughs with effect from 1 January 1836. At the same time, a procedure was established whereby the inhabitant householders of a town could petition the Crown via the privy council to grant

456-468: A non-metropolitan county council and two or more non-metropolitan district councils share responsibility for these services. In single-tier areas a unitary authority , London borough , or metropolitan borough provides all services. The City of London and Isles of Scilly have unique local authorities. The London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, and some unitary authorities collaborate through regional authorities. The Greater London Authority (GLA)

532-585: A coalition of the Conservatives , Liberal Democrats , Derwentside Independents , Green Party , and most of the independents , led by Liberal Democrat councillor Amanda Hopgood. It had previously been under the control of the Labour Party continuously since 1925. The council is a member of the North East Combined Authority . The identically-named ceremonial county of Durham is larger than

608-483: A county council and a district council, which would share local authority functions. In May 2022, 21 non-metropolitan county councils and 164 non-metropolitan district councils remain. These are better known as simply county councils and district councils. The Local Government Act 1985 also abolished metropolitan county councils, but there are still 36 metropolitan district councils as of May 2022. There are also (as of April 2023) 62 unitary authorities. These carry out

684-547: A devolution deal, which are usually reserved to combined authorities for additional functions and funding. And, like some combined authorities and parish councils, local authorities do have a general power of competence . Separate to combined authorities, two or more local authorities can also work together through joint boards (for legally-required services: fire, public transport and waste disposal), joint committees (voluntarily) or through contracting out and agency arrangements. The Greater London Authority Act 1999 established

760-412: A handful of cities the chief magistrate was granted the further dignity of lord mayor . The corporation was a body corporate with perpetual succession, and included all registered electors or "burgesses" of the borough. However, the actual administration was carried out by a town council, which was in effect a committee representative of the community at large. All those eligible to vote were entered in

836-503: A local authority in an unreformed state; the City undertook a major reform of its democratic structure in 2005. In 1873 the Association of Municipal Corporations was formed to represent the interests of the boroughs collectively; its membership included both county and non-county boroughs. The AMC was later to be a strong advocate for expanding county boroughs and unitary local government, and it

SECTION 10

#1732844283539

912-510: A local authority. Ten currently exist, with more planned. Parish councils form the lowest tier of local government and govern civil parishes . They may also be called a 'community council', 'neighbourhood council', 'village council', 'town council' or (if the parish holds city status) 'city council', but these names are stylistic and do not change their responsibilities. As of December 2021 there are 10,475 parishes in England, but they do not cover

988-620: A parish council must meet certain conditions of quality. Civil parishes developed in the nineteenth century and were based on the Church of England's parishes , which until then had both ecclesiastical and local government functions; parish councils were created by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73). The ecclesiastical parishes continue to exist, but neither they nor their parochial church councils have any local government role. There are 317 local authorities covering

1064-687: A site nearby, also on Old Elvet, which was also given the name Shire Hall . The new building was completed in 1898, after which the old Shire Hall became known as the Assizes Court, and since 1971 as Durham Crown Court . The council has announced plans to move to the Rivergreen building, also in the Aykley Heads area of Durham, in 2025, with the intention that County Hall would then be redeveloped. Local government in England Civil parishes are

1140-412: A unitary authority on 1 April 2009, when the seven remaining non-metropolitan districts of the county were abolished and the county council absorbed their functions. The legislation which made the county council a unitary authority allowed the council to omit the word 'County' from its name to become 'Durham Council', but in the event the name 'Durham County Council' was kept. In 2024 a combined authority

1216-549: A whole has limited revenue-raising powers compared to other G7 countries. In the 20th century, local authorities found that the costs of providing services exceeded the revenues raised from local taxes and so grants from the UK Government (specifically the Treasury ) gradually increased. However, UK Government grants were cut by 40% in real terms between the financial years 2009/10 and 2019/20, although grant income did grow due to

1292-481: Is a public interest in disclosing information about local government investments which will generally outweigh any concerns about whether disclosure could affect an investment's performance or be protected by confidentiality requirements. Local authorities cannot borrow money to finance day-to-day spending and so must rely on yearly income or reserves for this type of expenditure, although they can borrow to fund capital expenditure. Local government in England as

1368-517: Is clear both practically and democratically that the overly centralised arrangements of government in England are problematic" and that reform was also needed of funding structures. As of May 2024, the various combined authorities, county, district, and sui generis councils formed an administrative hierarchy as shown in the table below. Unitary authorities are legally either district councils which also perform county functions or county councils which also perform district functions; they therefore straddle

1444-455: Is the regional authority for Greater London , with responsibility for transport, policing, fire and rescue, development and strategic planning. Combined authorities are statutory bodies which allow two or more local authorities to voluntarily pool responsibilities and negotiate a devolution deal with the UK Government for the area they cover, giving it powers beyond those typically held by

1520-549: The COVID-19 pandemic . Local government receives two types of grants: the Revenue Support Grant, which can be spent on any service according to the wishes of the local government body in question, and specific grants, which are usually 'ring fenced' to specifically defined service areas. Council tax was introduced in 1993 to replace the ' poll tax '. It is a domestic property tax, based on eight bands (A to H) depending on

1596-687: The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Commissioner to account and keeping strategies up to date, including the London Plan . Meanwhile, it is the Assembly's role to regularly hold the Mayor and their key advisers to account and it can also amend the budget or a strategy by a two-thirds majority, though this has not ever happened as of March 2022. Combined authorities can be created at

SECTION 20

#1732844283539

1672-456: The Local Government Act 1888 . Boroughs were divided into two sorts, with some becoming county boroughs which were entirely self-governing and independent from county council administration. The non-county boroughs had more limited powers of self-government, and shared power with county councils. In 1894, towns which had not been incorporated as boroughs became urban districts with similar powers to municipal boroughs. The title of "borough"

1748-529: The Local Government Act 1972 . As part of those reforms the county ceded territory in the north-east to the new county of Tyne and Wear and in the south-east to the new county of Cleveland , but gained the former Startforth Rural District covering the part of Teesdale south of the River Tees from the North Riding of Yorkshire , and Darlington was brought back under the county council's control. Until 1974,

1824-542: The Localism Act 2011 . In every area, one local authority acts as the billing authority (the district council in two-tier areas), which prepares and collects council tax bills. Other parts of local government (like county councils in two-tier areas, police and crime commissioners, fire authorities, parish councils and combined authorities) act as precepting authorities, which notify the relevant billing authority of their decision on council tax and later receive this money from

1900-620: The Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in Scotland from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of royal burghs and creation of police burghs . Boroughs had existed in England and Wales since medieval times. By the late Middle Ages they had come under royal control, with corporations established by royal charter . These corporations were not popularly elected: characteristically they were self-selecting oligarchies , were nominated by tradesmen's guilds or were under

1976-623: The sui generis City of London Corporation . The other sui generis local authorities are the Council of the Isles of Scilly , Middle Temple and Inner Temple . Outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly , the Local Government Act 1972 divided England into metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, which would have one county council and multiple district councils each. That meant that each area would be covered by two tiers of local authorities - both

2052-434: The "burgess roll", which was compiled by the town clerk annually. The town council of each municipal borough consisted of a mayor, aldermen, and councillors. The councillors were directly elected by the burgesses for a three-year term, with one-third of their membership retiring each year. Boroughs with a population of more than 6,000 were divided into wards with separate elections held in each ward annually. One-quarter of

2128-420: The 1835 Act had powers relating to electoral registration , providing a watch , making byelaws , and holding various civil and criminal courts. The types of courts which could be held depended on whether the borough had been given a separate commission of the peace or its own quarter sessions ; those which had their own quarter sessions were also required to appoint a coroner . The mayor was ex officio made

2204-543: The 1835 Act. Many boroughs were covered by separate bodies of improvement commissioners responsible for matters such as paving, lighting and cleaning streets, supplying water and providing sewers. These improvement commissioners continued to exist alongside the borough councils unless the commissioners chose to transfer their powers to the council. From 1848 onwards local boards could also be established for providing infrastructure and overseeing public health. Where local board districts were created covering municipal boroughs

2280-453: The 1840 Act in 1926, allowing urban districts to petition the Governor for a charter of incorporation. Accordingly, by 1972 the number of boroughs had increased to 12 in number. The system of local government was reorganised in 1973, with 26 local government districts replacing all county and municipal boroughs as well as urban and rural districts . The city or borough status conferred by

2356-433: The 2025 election, reducing the number of councillors to 98. The council is based at County Hall at Aykley Heads in the northern suburbs of the city of Durham. The building was purpose-built for the council and was completed in 1963. When first created the council met at the courthouse on Old Elvet, which at the time was known as Shire Hall. A few years after its creation the council decided to build its own headquarters on

Durham County Council - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-559: The Electoral Commission has recommended that all authorities use whole council elections every 4 years. Local authorities have a choice of executive arrangements under the Local Government Act 2000 : mayor and cabinet executive, leader and cabinet executive, a committee system or bespoke arrangements approved by the Secretary of State. As of April 2023, just 15 local authorities have directly-elected mayors . Some functions are just

2508-541: The English boroughs, and each borough was divided into wards with three, six or nine councillors per ward and one alderman for every three councillors. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 designated the six largest municipalities ( Belfast , Cork , Dublin , Limerick , Derry and Waterford ) as county boroughs. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 introduced a system of proportional representation into municipal elections. Wards were replaced by electoral areas, and

2584-521: The Labour Party as of 2024 except for Tees Valley . Each combined authority's executive consists of a representative from each of its constituent local authorities, plus (if applicable) the mayor. Functions can be devolved directly to the mayor, to the combined authority as a whole, or have a different decision-making requirement. The budget and functions of each combined authority can be vastly different, but possible functions include responsibility for

2660-622: The Secretary of State the power to provide for a directly-elected combined authority mayor . And, as of May 2022, nine out of the 10 combined authorities have mayors, including Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Andy Street in the West Midlands . In the 2024 local elections , new Combined Authorities were elected; they were the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority , North East Mayoral Combined Authority , East Midlands Combined County Authority . They are all controlled by

2736-459: The abolished boroughs were inherited by one of the new local authorities. District councils were permitted to apply for a charter to receive borough status , while small municipal boroughs became successor parishes with town councils headed by a town mayor. In a few cases charter trustees , a special committee of district councillors, were formed to perpetuate the mayoralty of a town or city. The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 followed

2812-555: The administrative county in 1968 to become part of the County Borough of Teesside . The first elections took place in January 1889 and the county council formally came into being on 1 April 1889. On that day its first official meeting was held at the old Shire Hall on Old Elvet in Durham, the courthouse (built 1811) which had served as the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded

2888-405: The agreement of the relevant local authorities, and under the Localism Act 2011 eligible parish councils can be granted a " general power of competence " (GPC) which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this

2964-594: The billing authority. Between financial years 2009/10 and 2021/22, council tax rates increased by 30% in real terms, in light of reduced grants from the UK Government. Business rates is a tax on business premises. It is based on the rateable value of the premises (set by the Valuation Office Agency ) and a business rate multiplier. It is set and collected by billing authorities. Reforms in 2013 now mean that local authorities keep 50% of business rate revenues raised locally. The UK Government then distributes

3040-404: The borough council was often, but not always, appointed to serve as the local board. In some places it was deemed necessary for the local board district to cover a larger or smaller territory than the borough, in which case a separate local board was elected. The overlapping functions of borough councils, improvement commissioners and local boards were gradually consolidated. Many boroughs took over

3116-479: The borough was elected for a one-year term, although he was eligible for re-election indefinitely. Under the original legislation the mayor was required to be a councillor or alderman. The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 empowered the council to elect any suitably qualified inhabitant of the borough as mayor. However, the mayoralty continued to be almost universally conferred on a senior alderman or councillor. Municipal elections were originally held on 1 November, with

Durham County Council - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-522: The composition of the council was: Of the independent councillors, six sit with the Derwentside Independents, North East Party and the Green councillor as the "Durham Group", nine form the "Durham County Council Independent Group", three form the "Spennymoor and Tudhoe Independent Group" and three form the "County Durham Independents". Each of these groups form part of the council's administration. Of

3268-399: The control of the lord of the manor . A Royal commission was appointed in 1833 to investigate the various borough corporations in England and Wales. In all 263 towns were found to have some form of corporation created by charter or in existence by prescription . The majority had self-elected common councils, whose members served for life. Where there was an election, the incumbent members of

3344-457: The corporation often effectively nominated the electorate. Eleven boroughs were manorial court leets . Following the report of the royal commission, legislation was introduced to reform borough corporations. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 provided for a reformed form of town government, designated a municipal borough. The Act introduced a uniform system of town government in municipal boroughs, with an elected town council , consisting of

3420-415: The council was under no overall control with a Labour minority administration. From 1925 until 2021, Labour held a majority. Political control since 1919 has been as follows: Administrative county Two-tier non-metropolitan county Unitary authority The leaders of the council since 2001 have been: Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2024,

3496-403: The council were aldermen , who were elected by the council for a six-year term. Half of the aldermen were elected every third year at the council's annual meeting. It was originally envisaged that the council would choose persons from outside of the municipal body. In practice, however, the aldermanic benches were almost exclusively filled by the promotion of long-serving councillors. The mayor of

3572-589: The county and district columns. Metropolitan districts and London boroughs are also shown straddling the county and district columns. In much of the country there is also a lower tier of civil parishes . This administrative hierarchy differs from the ceremonial hierarchy . Municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1836 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in

3648-592: The county council. The first chairman of the council was John Lloyd Wharton , who was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ripon (in Yorkshire ); he had also been chairman of the Durham Quarter Sessions since 1871. Durham was the first county council to be controlled by the Labour Party , which won the most seats in 1919. In 1974, the county was redesignated as a non-metropolitan county under

3724-500: The county is also covered by civil parishes , which form a lower tier of local government for their areas. The council has been under no overall control since the 2021 election . Labour is the largest party, but a coalition of all the other parties and most of the independent councillors formed to take control of the council, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Amanda Hopgood. Durham was the first county council to be controlled by Labour , who took power in 1919. Between 1922 and 1925,

3800-550: The enactment of the Borough Charters Confirmation Act 1842 . A number of further acts of parliament amended the 1835 legislation. All of these were repealed and replaced by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 . The 1882 Act and the consolidating Local Government Act 1933 provided the statutory basis for municipal boroughs up to their abolition. An important change in the 1933 legislation removed

3876-477: The entire council was to be elected triennially. Separate elections of aldermen and councillors were ended, with all members of the council elected by popular vote. One-quarter of the elected members were entitled to the title of "alderman", which was used to designate the first candidates elected in each area. The remaining successful candidates being "councillors". Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , Ireland

SECTION 50

#1732844283539

3952-592: The example of the legislation in England and Wales. Unlike the 1835 Act, the Irish Act abolished nearly all of the country's boroughs, reforming just 10. Inhabitants of the larger of the abolished boroughs or of any town with a population of 3,000 could petition the crown for incorporation under the Act. In the event, only one additional borough was created when Wexford received a charter of incorporation in 1846. The corporation and town council were identical in their constitution to

4028-576: The financial year 2019/20, local authorities received 22% of their funding from grants, 52% from council tax and 27% from retained business rates. In the financial year 2023/24, 51% of revenue expenditure is expected to come from UK Government grants, 31% from council tax and 15% from retained business rates. Local government can also receive some money from fees and charges for the use of services, returns and interest from investments , commercial income, fixed penalty notices and capital receipts. The Information Commissioner's Office has ruled that there

4104-689: The functions of both county and district councils and have replaced two-tier local government in some areas. The creation of these first became possible under the Local Government Act 1992 , but now takes place under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . In the 2023/24 financial year, 33% of budgeted service expenditure across local government as a whole is set to be on education , 19% on adult social care , 13% on police , 11% on children's social care and 24% on all other services. Notably, Cornwall Council has been subject to

4180-681: The functions of commissioners or separate local boards under the Public Health Act 1872, which established urban sanitary districts , with borough councils usually being designated as the urban sanitary authority. There were a handful of exceptions where commissioners and local boards continued to operate alongside borough councils until the Local Government Act 1888 required the remaining anomalies to be addressed; from 1889 all borough councils were sanitary authorities with powers to provide infrastructure and oversee public health. In 1889, county councils were created across England and Wales under

4256-436: The lower tier of local government comprised numerous boroughs , urban districts and rural districts . The districts were also reorganised in 1974 into eight non-metropolitan districts : Chester-le-Street , Darlington , Derwentside , Durham , Easington , Sedgefield , Teesdale , and Wear Valley . In 1997, Darlington became a unitary authority, removing it from county council control. Durham County Council itself became

4332-413: The lowest tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities. Local authorities cover the entirety of England, and are responsible for services such as education, transport, planning applications, and waste collection and disposal. In two-tier areas

4408-645: The mayoral election and filling of aldermanic vacancies on 9 November. Elections were cancelled during the First and Second World Wars , and the November 1948 elections were postponed until May 1949. From that date, municipal elections were held on the second Thursday of May. In view of the forthcoming local government reorganisation, the 1972 elections were rescheduled to 4 May, with no elections in 1973 and all sitting councillors and aldermen holding their seats until midnight on 31 March 1974. The municipal boroughs created under

4484-545: The municipal charters passed to the new district councils. Nine boroughs (four county boroughs and five municipal boroughs) were within the territory of the Irish Free State in 1922. Two new boroughs were created by statute. In 1930, the borough of Dún Laoghaire was created by the amalgamation of the four urban districts of Blackrock , Dalkey , Kingstown , and Killiney and Ballybrack in County Dublin . This borough

4560-570: The non-metropolitan county, and includes Darlington , Hartlepool , and the parts of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees . Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over administrative functions previously carried out by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions . The boroughs of Gateshead , South Shields and Sunderland were considered large enough to provide their own county-level services and so they were made county boroughs , independent from Durham County Council. The county council

4636-463: The other four independents, three sit as the "Unaligned Group" which is not part of the administration and the other does not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2025. Since the last boundary changes in 2013 the council has comprised 126 councillors representing 63 electoral divisions , with each division electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. New division boundaries have been drawn up to take effect from

SECTION 60

#1732844283539

4712-523: The people within government are unsure at times where powers and responsibility, and hence accountability, rest, this lack of clarity is magnified for individuals who have little knowledge or experience of the structures. This has the potential to leave individuals less likely to be able to access what they need from government, leaving them often unable to know who is responsible, and as a result are not properly able to hold their democratic representatives to account. The Committee also said that "[t]he evidence

4788-514: The powers of a parish council . Seven small boroughs in Cornwall, Devon and Shropshire underwent this process. The remaining municipal boroughs, of which there were over 200, were abolished on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 . In England, they were replaced by metropolitan or non-metropolitan districts and in Wales by districts . In most cases, the civic privileges and coat of arms of

4864-773: The relevant police force and/or fire brigade , bus franchising and spatial strategy. Lower-tier of a two-tier system. Upper-tier of a two-tier system. De facto unitary authorities since abolition of metropolitan county councils . Metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 and most of their functions were devolved to the metropolitan boroughs making them unitary authorities in all but name. Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. South Yorkshire . Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. Greater Manchester . In England, local authorities have three main sources of funding: UK Government grants, council tax and business rates . In

4940-469: The remaining 50% of business rate revenues according to its own judgement. It was initially planned to increase the proportion of business rates that local authorities retain to 100%, but this was indefinitely delayed in 2021. In 2022, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said that it had "significant concerns about the current governance arrangements for England": If

5016-520: The request of two or more local authorities. Combined authorities do not replace the local authorities in question, but can receive separate functions and funding. As of May 2022, there are 10 combined authorities covering some of England. The Secretary of State was first granted the power to create combined authorities by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 . The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 gave

5092-503: The responsibility of the executive of a local authority, but local authorities must also have at least one overview and scrutiny committee to hold the executive to account. The London Government Act 1963 established 32 London borough councils. It also established the Greater London Council , covering the whole of Greater London , but this was later abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 . Greater London also includes

5168-556: The right to petition for incorporation from inhabitant householders. In future, petitions could only be made by existing urban or rural district councils. The boroughs unreformed by the Act were not immediately abolished. Several of them subsequently sought new charters as municipal boroughs; those that did not were finally abolished in 1887 by the Municipal Corporations Act 1886. Only the City of London Corporation survived as

5244-411: The value of the property on 1 April 1991. Various discounts are set out in law and exist at the discretion of billing authorities. On a yearly basis, local government bodies review and consider whether to increase or decrease the level of council tax to fund their spending plans. The level at which a local authority can increase council tax each year without holding a local referendum is regulated by

5320-560: The whole of England. There are five main types of local authorities: London borough councils , two-tier county and district councils , metropolitan district councils and unitary authorities . Some local authorities have borough , city or royal borough status, but this is purely stylistic. All local authorities are made up of councillors , who represent geographical wards . There are 7,026 wards as of December 2021. Local authorities run on four year cycles and councillors may be elected all at once, by halves or by thirds; although

5396-430: The whole of the country as many urban parishes were abolished in 1974. The only specific statutory function of parish councils, which they must do, is establishing allotments . However, there are a number of other functions given by powers in the relevant legislation, which they can do, such as providing litter bins and building bus shelters . Their statutory functions are few, but they may provide other services with

5472-544: Was partitioned in 1921, between Northern Ireland , which would remain in the United Kingdom, and the remainder, which left the United Kingdom in 1922 as the Irish Free State . On establishment, Northern Ireland contained the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, with no municipal boroughs. The Parliament of Northern Ireland abolished proportional representation in local government elections in 1922, and amended

5548-618: Was at the annual conference of the AMC in 1965 that Richard Crossman called for a reform of all local government. This speech eventually led to the Redcliffe-Maud Report recommending large unitary councils for all England. Each municipal borough possessed a corporation uniformly designated as the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the town. The only exception was where the borough enjoyed city status ; in this case "burgesses" became "citizens". In

5624-499: Was considered to be more dignified than "urban district", and so many larger urban districts petitioned to be granted the status of a municipal borough, and many were granted this right. Borough status did not substantially increase local government powers, although municipal boroughs above a certain size had the right to run primary education . Under the Local Government Act 1958 , small municipal boroughs could be absorbed by surrounding rural districts to become rural boroughs , with

5700-477: Was elected by and provided services to the rest of the county, which area was termed the administrative county . Additional county boroughs were later created at West Hartlepool in 1902 and Darlington in 1915. In 1967 West Hartlepool merged with the neighbouring borough of Hartlepool (which had just covered the old town ), with the enlarged county borough thereafter being called Hartlepool. Stockton-on-Tees , Billingham and surrounding areas were removed from

5776-569: Was established covering Durham, Gateshead , Newcastle upon Tyne , North Tyneside , Northumberland , South Tyneside and Sunderland , called the North East Mayoral Combined Authority . It is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the North East and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area. Since 2009, Durham County Council has provided both county-level and district-level services. Much of

#538461