Local Government Act 1972

231 Service of notices on local authorities, etc. E+W

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, any notice, order or other document required or authorised by any enactment or any instrument made under an enactment to be given to or served on a local authority or the chairman or an officer of a local authority shall be given or served by addressing it to the local authority and leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the principal office of the authority or any other office of the authority specified by them as one at which they will accept documents of the same description as that document.

(2) Any notice, order or other document so required or authorised to be given to or served on a parish meeting, or the chairman of the parish meeting, shall be given or served by addressing it to the chairman of the parish meeting and by delivering it to him, or by leaving it at his last known address, or by sending it by post to him at that address.

(3) The foregoing provisions of this section do not apply to a document which is to be given or served in any proceedings in court, but except as aforesaid the methods of giving or serving documents provided for by those provisions are in substitution for the methods provided for by any other enactment or any instrument made under an enactment so far as it relates to the giving or service of documents to or on a local authority, the chairman or an officer of a local authority or a parish meeting or the chairman of a parish meeting.

[F1 (4) In this section “local authority” includes [F2 a corporate joint committee,] a joint authority, [F3 an economic prosperity board, a combined authority] F4 ... [F5 , [F6 a combined county authority,] [F7 a fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004,] a police and crime commissioner and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime ] F8 ... F9 ....]

[F10 (5) In the application of subsection (1) to a corporate joint committee—

(a) references to the chairman are to be read as references to the chairperson of the corporate joint committee, and

(b) references to the principal office are to be read as references to—

(i) the principal office of the corporate joint committee, or

(ii) a principal office of a local authority for a county or county borough in Wales which is within the area specified as the corporate joint committee’s area in regulations under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 establishing the corporate joint committee.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 231(4) inserted by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 84, Sch. 14 Pt. I para. 27

F2 Words in s. 231(4) inserted (25.3.2022) by The Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/372), regs. 1(2), 29(a)

F3 Words in s. 231(4) inserted (17.12.2009) by Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (c. 20), ss. 119, 148(6), Sch. 6 para. 30; S.I. 2009/3318, art. 2(c)

F4 Words in s. 231(4) omitted (26.5.2015) by virtue of Deregulation Act 2015 (c. 20), s. 115(7), Sch. 13 para. 6(7)(q); S.I. 2015/994, art. 6(g)

F5 Words in s. 231(4) substituted (16.1.2012) by Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c. 13), s. 157(1), Sch. 16 para. 112; S.I. 2011/3019, art. 3, Sch. 1 (with Sch. 2 para. 33)

F6 Words in s. 231(4) inserted (26.12.2023) by Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55), s. 255(2)(c), Sch. 4 para. 43 (with s. 247)

F7 Words in s. 231(4) inserted (31.1.2017 for specified purposes, 3.4.2017 in so far as not already in force) by Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3), s. 183(1)(5)(e), Sch. 1 para. 29; S.I. 2017/399, reg. 2, Sch. para. 38

F8 Words in s. 231(4) repealed (1.4.2002) by 2001 c. 16, s. 137, Sch. 7 Pt. 5(1); S.I. 2002/344, art. 3(j)(m) (with transitional provisions in art. 4)

F9 Words repealed by Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40, SIF 41:1), ss. 231(7), 235(6), 237(2), Sch. 13 Pt. I

F10 S. 231(5) inserted (25.3.2022) by The Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/372), regs. 1(2), 29(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 231 amended by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 57(7), Sch. 13 para. 12(g)

C2 S. 231 modified (7.8.1991) by S.I.1991/1773, art. 8(2), Sch. 2

S. 231: certain functions transferred (7.8.1991) by S.I.1991/1773, art. 8, Sch. 2

S. 231 extended (5.7.1994) by 1994 c. 19, ss. 39(2), 66(2)(b), Sch. 13 para. 19(g) (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2))

S. 231 modified (1.4.1995) by S.I. 1995/401, art. 18, Sch. para. 1(e)

S. 231: power to make provisions about matters of the kind dealt with in this section conferred (1.9.1997) by 1997 c. 50, s. 44(1), Sch. 4(a)(xiv); S.I. 1997/1930, art. 2(1)(2)(m)

S. 231 (except subsection (2)) applied (28.7.1998) by 1998 c. iv, s. 39

S. 231 extended (1.10.1998) by 1975 c. 70, s. 25 (as substituted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 128, Sch. 14 para. 9; S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4)

S. 231 extended (8.5.2000) by 1999 c. 29, s. 75 (with Sch. 12 para. 9(1)); S.I. 2000/801, art. 2(2)(b), Sch. Pt. 2

C3 S. 231 applied (with modifications) (22.7.2004) by The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Establishment of Conservation Board) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1777), art. 21(2)(e)

S. 231 applied (with modifications) (22.7.2004) by The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Establishment of Conservation Board) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1778), art. 21(2)(e)

C4 S. 231 excluded (7.2.2005) by Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17), ss. 184(8)(a), 201(2) (with ss. 2(3), 15(2), 195); S.I. 2004/2360, art. 2(1), Sch.

C5 Ss. 224-234 applied (with modifications) (E.) (24.3.2011) by The Hull and Goole Port Health Authority Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/939), arts. 1(1), 7, Sch. 1

C6 Ss. 228-234 applied (with modifications) (22.11.2012) by The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2734), regs. 1(1), 3-6, Sch. Pt. 2

C7 Ss. 228-234 applied (with modifications) (22.11.2012) by The Police and Crime Panels (Application of Local Authority Enactments) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2734), regs. 1(1), 3-6, Sch. Pt. 3

C8 Ss. 231-234 extended (19.9.1995) by 1995 c. 25, ss. 63(5), 125(2), Sch. 7 para. 17(2)(d) (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117, Sch. 8 para. 7) (as amended (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 18; S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c))

C9 S. 231(1) extended by Local Land Charges Act 1975 (c. 76, SIF 98:2), s. 9(2) and by Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 (c. 65, SIF 123:1), s. 106, Sch. 21 para. 10

C10 S. 231(4) amended by S.I. 1985/1884, art. 10, Sch. 3 para. 1(n)

C11 S. 231(4) modified by S.I. 1987/2110, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 para. 3(n)