Local Government Act 1929 facts for kids
The Local Government Act 1929 was an important law passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in England and Wales. This law changed how local areas were managed and how help was given to people in need.
Before this Act, a system called the Poor Law helped people who were struggling. This system was run by groups called "boards of guardians" in different areas called "poor law unions." The 1929 Act got rid of these groups and gave their responsibilities to local councils. It also gave county councils more power over roads and helped to make local government areas like towns and country districts work better.
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| Long title | An Act to amend the law relating to the administration of poor relief, registration of births, deaths, and marriages, highways, town planning and local government; to extend the application of the Rating and Valuation (Apportionment) Act, 1928, to hereditaments in which no persons are employed; to grant complete or partial relief from rates in the case of the hereditaments to which that Act applies; to discontinue certain grants from the Exchequer and provide other grants in lieu thereof; and for purposes consequential on the matters aforesaid. |
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| Citation | 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 17 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 27 March 1929 |
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Status: Repealed
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Contents
Changes to Helping People in Need
The 1929 Act completely stopped the old system of "poor law unions" and their "boards of guardians." These groups used to be in charge of helping poor people.
Instead, local councils, like county councils and county boroughs, took over this job. They set up "Public Assistance Committees" to manage help for those in need.
- Hospitals for the sick and those with fevers, which were run by the old system, became part of the local authorities.
- Workhouses, where poor people used to live and work, became public assistance institutions.
Later on, other public groups took over these roles. For example, the National Assistance Board and the National Health Service (NHS) were created to provide help and healthcare.
In London, a group called the Metropolitan Asylums Board, which ran hospitals, was also removed. The London County Council then became responsible for those hospitals.
Managing Roads and Highways
The Act gave county councils much more power over roads. They became the main authority for almost all roads in their county.
- County councils directly took charge of all roads that were previously managed by rural district councils.
- They also kept control of important roads that the Ministry of Transport had already classified.
- Urban district councils continued to manage the smaller, unclassified roads in their own areas.
Making Local Areas Work Better
The 1929 Act aimed to fix a problem with how local government areas were set up. Many administrative counties had lots of small urban and rural districts.
- Some urban districts were very small, with only a few hundred people. They didn't have enough resources to provide modern services.
- Similarly, many rural districts created in 1894 were small and oddly shaped.
- There were even cases where parts of one county were managed by a council in another county.
How County Areas Were Reviewed
A part of the Act, Section 46, said that each administrative county in England and Wales had to review its districts. The goal was to create larger, more effective areas for local management.
Here's how the process worked:
- The county council would suggest a plan.
- People could object or suggest changes to the plan.
- Finally, the Minister of Health would make an official order.
All county councils were supposed to finish their plans by April 1, 1932. However, some took longer. The last plan was submitted by Cheshire County Council in July 1935.
The first changes based on the Act happened in 1932. By November 1936, most of the changes were almost done. The very last change, affecting districts in the West Riding of Yorkshire, came into effect on April 1, 1938. Interestingly, in the counties of Radnorshire and Rutland, no changes were made to their existing areas.
Between 1932 and 1938, these reviews led to many changes:
- 189 boroughs (towns with their own government) were made larger.
- 206 urban districts were removed, and 49 new ones were created. This meant 159 fewer urban districts overall.
- 236 rural districts were removed, and 67 new ones were created. This meant 169 fewer rural districts overall.
The Act did not allow for the removal of existing municipal boroughs, even if they were small. This power to remove small boroughs was added later in the Local Government Act 1958.
At the same time as rural districts were reorganized, many small local areas called parishes within them were also combined.
It was originally planned that these reviews would happen every ten years. However, because of the Second World War and new laws in 1945, there weren't any more big changes to administrative areas until 1965-1968.
See also
- Administrative county
- Local Government Act 1888
- Local Government Act 1894
