Local Government Act 1974

Changes over time for: Section 23

Version Superseded: 01/04/2006

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Local Government Act 1974, Section 23 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 12 July 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.

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23 The Commissions for Local Administration.E+W

(1)For the purpose of conducting investigations in accordance with this Part of this Act, there shall be—

(a)a body of commissioners to be known as the Commission for Local Administration in England, and

(b)a body consisting of two or more commissioners to be known as the Commission for Local Administration in Wales

[F1but each of the Commissions may include persons appointed to act as advisers, not exceeding the number appointed to conduct investigations.]

(2)The Parliamentary Commissioner shall be a member of each of the Commissions.

F2(2A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)In the following provisions of this Part of this Act the expression “Local Commissioner” means a person, other than the Parliamentary Commissioner F3...[F4or an advisory member], who is a member of one of the Commissions.

[F5(3A)Where the person who is the Welsh Administration Ombudsman is not appointed as a member of the Commission for Local Administration in Wales under subsection (4)—

(a)he shall be a member of that Commission by virtue of his office; but

(b)he shall not be a “Local Commissioner” within the meaning of this Part.]

(4)Appointments to the office of . . . F6Commissioner shall be made by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Secretary of State after consultation with the [F7such persons as appear to the Secretary of State to represent authorities in England or, as the case may be, authorities in Wales to which this Part of this Act applies], and a person so appointed shall, subject to subsection (6) below, hold office during good behaviour.

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F8Commissioners may be appointed to serve either as full-time commissioners or as part-time commissioners.

(6)A . . . F8Commissioner may be relieved of office by Her Majesty at his own request or may be removed from office by Her Majesty on grounds of incapacity or misbehaviour, and shall in any case vacate office on completing the year of service in which he attains the age of sixty-five years.

(7)The Secretary of State shall designate two of the Local Commissioners for England as chairman and vice-chairman respectively of the Commission for Local Administration in England and, in the event of there being more than one Local Commissioner for Wales, shall designate one of them as chairman of the Commission for Local Administration in Wales.

(8)The Commission for Local Administration in England shall divide England into areas and shall provide, in relation to each area, for one or more of the Local Commissioners to be responsible for the area; and where the Commission for Local Administration in Wales consist of more than one Local Commissioner they may, if they think fit, act in a similar way in Wales.

A Local Commissioner may, by virtue of this subsection, be made responsible for more than one area.

(9)It shall be the duty of the Commission for Local Administration in England to ensure that any Local Commissioner made responsible for an area which includes the county of Cornwall is made responsible for an area which also includes the Isles of Scilly.

(10)Each of the Commissions—

(a)shall make arrangements for Local Commissioners to accept cases for which they are not responsible including, where the other Commission so request, a case arising in the country of that other Commission, and

(b)shall publish information about the procedures for making complaints under this Part of this Act.

(11)For the year ending on 31st March 1975, and for each subsequent financial year, every Local Commissioner shall prepare a general report on the discharge of his functions and shall submit it to his Commission; and where he has discharged functions at the request of the other Commission he shall prepare a general report on the discharge of those functions and shall submit it to the other Commission.

Any such report shall be submitted to the appropriate Commission not later than two months after the end of the year to which it relates.

(12)[F9In the financial year beginning on 1st April 1990, and in every third financial year afterwards, the Commissions shall review the operation (since the last review was made under this subsection) of the provisions of this Part of this Act about the investigation of complaints, and shall have power to convey to authorities to which this Part of this Act applies] . . . F10, or to government departments [F11or the National Assembly for Wales], any recommendations or conclusions reached in the course of their reviews [F12and shall send copies of those recommendations or conclusions to the representative persons and authorities concerned].

[F13(12A)Each of the Commissions may, after consultation with the representative persons and authorities concerned, provide to the authorities or any of the authorities to which this Part of this Act applies such advice and guidance about good administrative practice as appears to the Commission to be appropriate and may arrange for it to be published for the information of the public.

(12B)The representative persons and authorities concerned are—

(a)for the purposes of subsection (12) above, such persons appearing to the Commission to represent authorities in England or, as the case may be, authorities in Wales to which this Part of this Act applies, and in the case of such authorities as are not so represented, those authorities; and

(b)for the purposes of subsection (12A) above, such of those persons and authorities as the Commission think appropriate.]

(13)Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect as respectss the Commissions.

Textual Amendments

F1Words added by Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42, SIF 81:1), s. 22(2)

F2S. 23(2A) omitted (24.9.2004) by virtue of Regulatory Reform (Local Commissioner for Wales) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/2359), arts. 1(3), 2(2)(a)

F3Words in s. 23(3) omitted (24.9.2004) by virtue of Regulatory Reform (Local Commissioner for Wales) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/2359), arts. 1(3), 2(2)(b)

F4Words inserted by Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42, SIF 81:1, 2), s. 22(3)

F5S. 23(3A) inserted (24.9.2004) by Regulatory Reform (Local Commissioner for Wales) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/2359), arts. 1(3), 2(2)(c)

F6Word repealed by Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42, SIF 81:1, 2), ss. 22(4), 194(4), Sch. 12 Pt. II

F7Words substituted by Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42, SIF 81:1), s. 194(1), Sch. 11 para. 37

F8Word repealed by Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42, SIF 81:1, 2), ss. 22(4), 194(4), Sch. 12 Pt. II

F9Words substituted by Local Government Act 1988 (c. 9, SIF 81:1, 2), s. 29, Sch. 3 para. 2(1)