Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 facts for kids
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| Long title | An Act to provide for the constitution of district councils to administer local government districts, for the regulation of such councils and for certain of their functions; to abolish existing local government areas and existing local authorities, with certain exceptions, and to enable provision to be made for the transfer of the functions, assets and liabilities of such authorities; and for connected purposes. |
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| Citation | 1972 c. 9 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 March 1972 |
| Commencement | 25 March 1972 |
| Other legislation | |
| Relates to | Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878, Water Supplies and Sewerage Act (Northern Ireland) 1945, New Towns Acts (Northern Ireland), Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971, Local Government (Boundaries) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 |
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Status: Current legislation
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The Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 was an important law passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. This Act created new local councils, called district councils. These councils were set up to manage the 26 local areas, or "districts," that had been drawn up by an earlier law in 1971. The Act also got rid of the older types of local government bodies that existed before.
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What Are District Councils?
This law made sure that each of the new local government districts would have its own council. These councils were made up of people elected by the public, called councillors. One councillor would be chosen as the chairman, and another could be the vice-chairman.
City and Borough Status
The Act also allowed some of these new districts to keep or gain special titles like "city" or "borough." A "charter" is a special document that grants these titles.
- If a new district included a city or borough that already had a charter, that charter could continue to apply to the new district.
- A district council could also ask for a brand new charter to become a borough.
- When a district became a city or borough, its chairman and vice-chairman would then be called the mayor and deputy-mayor.
- For Belfast, the chairman continued to be called the lord mayor, which is a very old and special title.
Originally, councils would ask the Governor of Northern Ireland for a royal charter. However, by the time the Act started, the Governor's role had changed. So, councils would instead make their requests to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who is a government minister.
Old Local Authorities Abolished
The 1972 Act made big changes to how local government worked in Northern Ireland. It officially ended the old system where areas were divided into "counties" and "county boroughs" for local government purposes.
It also got rid of other older local government areas, such as:
- Boroughs (unless their charters were adopted by new district councils)
- Urban districts
- Rural districts
Some special groups that managed public health and water supplies were also abolished. However, the corporations (the official bodies) of Belfast and Londonderry were allowed to continue. Their district councils simply took over their roles from October 1, 1973. The Act also dissolved commissions that had been set up to develop new towns.
Staff Commission for Councils
The Act also created a special group called the Staff Commission of Northern Ireland. This commission had an important job: to help manage the people who worked for the new district councils and for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which provides housing.
The Staff Commission's main tasks included:
- Setting up panels to help councils choose the best people for jobs.
- Creating rules to make sure everyone applying for a job was treated fairly.
- Checking that councils followed fair employment rules.
- Figuring out what kind of staff councils would need in the future and letting people know about job openings.
- Encouraging councils to work together.
- Helping to develop training programs for local government staff.
- Assisting with setting standard pay rates and other job conditions.
