Local Government Act 1985

92 Control of liabilities affecting successor authorities. E+W

(1) This section applies to any agreement or arrangements entered into after 21st March 1985 under which the Greater London Council or a metropolitan county council assumes liabilities not falling to be wholly discharged before the abolition date other than—

(a) an agreement or arrangements requiring the consent of the Secretary of State under section 91 above;

(b) any transaction requiring his consent under sections 7 to 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 or which would require his consent under section 9 of that Act if the consideration exceeded the limit applying under that section;

(c) a contract of employment or a contract for the borrowing of money by the council.

(2) Except with the consent of the Secretary of State neither the Greater London Council nor a metropolitan county council shall after the passing of this Act enter into any agreement or arrangements to which this section applies; and if at any time since 21st March 1985 and before the passing of this Act any of those councils has done anything that would have been a contravention of the foregoing provisions if they had then been in force the same consequences shall follow as if those provisions had been contravened by that council.

(3) Any consent for the purposes of subsection (2) above may be given either in respect of any particular agreement or arrangements or in respect of agreements or arrangements of any class or description and either unconditionally or subject to conditions.

(4) No agreement or arrangements entered into in contravention of this section shall be enforceable against a successor authority.

(5) If, on an application made by a constituent council, by a local government elector for the area of a constituent council or by a successor authority other than a constituent council, it appears to the High Court that the Greater London Council or a metropolitan county council has entered into any agreement or arrangements in contravention of this section, the court may order any person responsible for authorising the agreement or arrangements who is, or was at the time of the conduct in question, a member of the council—

(a) to be disqualified for being a member of that council and to be disqualified for a specified period for being a member of any other local authority; and

(b) to pay to that council (or, in the case of an order made on or after the abolition date, to the appropriate residuary body) a sum not exceeding the cost of discharging such of the liabilities assumed by the council under the agreement or arrangements as have not been, or in the opinion of the court are likely not to be, discharged by that council before that date.

(6) No order shall be made in respect of any person under subsection (5) above if the court is satisfied that he acted in the belief that the agreement or arrangements had the consent of the Secretary of State and that any conditions attached to the consent had been complied with.

(7) In paragraph (a) of subsection (5) above “local authority” includes the Common Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly; and in sections 80(1)(e), 86(b) and 87(1)(d) of the principal Act references to [F1 the Audit Commission Act 1998] shall include references to that subsection.

(8) In this section “a constituent council” means—

(a) in relation to the Greater London Council, a London borough council or the Common Council;

(b) in relation to a metropolitan county council, the council of any district comprised in the county;

and “a successor authority” means, in relation to the Greater London Council or a metropolitan county council, any body or person who by virtue of any provision made by or under this Act will succeed or has succeeded to any liability of that council.

(9) Any statement by or on behalf of the Secretary of State before the passing of this Act that he will after the passing of this Act give his consent, or give his consent subject to specified conditions, in respect of any agreement or arrangements to which this section applies shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (2) above as a consent, or a consent subject to those conditions, given under this section.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 92(7) substituted (11.9.1998) by 1998 c.18, ss. 54(1), 55(2), Sch. 3 para. 11(4)