For the administration of local government on and after 1st April 1974 England (exclusive of Greater London and the Isles of Scilly) shall be divided into local government areas to be known as counties and in those counties there shall be local government areas to be known as districts.

The counties shall be the metropolitan counties named in Part I and the non-metropolitan counties named in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act and shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to administrative areas existing immediately before the passing of this Act) in column 2 of each Part of that Schedule.

The districts in the metropolitan counties shall be those respectively specified in column 2 of the said Part I and shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to administrative areas existing immediately before the passing of this Act) in that column, and the Secretary of State may by order provide a name for any such district.

The districts in the non-metropolitan counties shall be those respectively specified in one or more orders made by the Secretary of State under paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to this Act and having the names given to them by one or more orders so made.

Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the boundaries of the new local government areas.

Subject to Part IV of Schedule 1 to this Act and to any provision corresponding to that Part made by an order under section 254 below, the rural parishes existing immediately before 1st April 1974 shall continue to exist on and after that date by the name of parishes.

The said Part IV shall have effect with respect to the existing rural parishes which by virtue of this Act are comprised in more than one county or more than one metropolitan district.

Part V of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of constituting parishes the boundaries of which are determined by reference to those of existing boroughs and urban districts and also, in cases where the areas of such boroughs and urban districts are divided by or under this section between two or more new districts, by reference to the boundaries of the new districts.

The boroughs which by virtue of section 141 of the 1933 Act or section 28 of the M1Local Government Act 1958 are included in rural districts immediately before the passing of this Act shall on the passing of this Act become parishes without ceasing to be boroughs, but shall cease to be boroughs on 1st April 1974.

On that date the following local government areas existing immediately before that date outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly, that is to say, all administrative counties, boroughs (except those in rural districts), urban districts, rural districts and urban parishes, shall cease to exist and the council of every such area which has a council shall also cease to exist.

On that date the municipal corporation of every borough outside Greater London (and the corporation of a borough included in a rural district) shall cease to exist.

In this section “England” does not include the administrative county of Monmouthshire or the county borough of Newport.

For every F1non-metropolitan county there shall be a council consisting of a chairman and councillors and the council shall have all such functions as are vested in them by this Act or otherwise.

For every district there shall be a council consisting of a chairman and councillors and the council shall have all such functions as are vested in them by this Act or otherwise.

Where a council mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive or a mayor and council manager executive, the council shall consist of an elected mayor, a chairman and councillors.

Each council mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above shall be a body corporate by the name “The County Council” or “The District Council”, as the case may be, with the addition of the name of the particular county or district.

The chairman of a principal council shall be elected annually by the council from among the councillors.

A member of the executive of a principal council may not be elected as the chairman of the council.

The chairman shall, unless he resigns or becomes disqualified, continue in office until his successor becomes entitled to act as chairman.

During his term of office the chairman shall continue to be a member of the council notwithstanding the provisions of this Act relating to the retirement of councillors.

The chairman of a district council shall have precedence in the district, but not so as prejudicially to affect Her Majesty’s royal prerogative.

Subsection (4) above shall have effect in relation to a district council which are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive F6. . . as if it provided for the elected mayor of the council to have precedence in the district, but this subsection shall not apply if the executive arrangements provide for it not to apply.

A principal council may pay the chairman for the purpose of enabling him to meet the expenses of his office such allowance as the council think reasonable.

The election of the chairman shall be the first business transacted at the annual meeting of a principal council.

If, apart from section 3(3) above or section 5(2) below, the person presiding at the meeting would have ceased to be a member of the council, he shall not be entitled to vote in the election except in accordance with subsection (3) below.

In the case of an equality of votes the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any other vote he may have.

A principal council shall appoint a member of the council to be vice-chairman of the council.

A member of the executive of a principal council may not be appointed as the vice-chairman of the council.

The vice-chairman shall, unless he resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office until immediately after the election of a chairman at the next annual meeting of the council and during that time shall continue to be a member of the council notwithstanding the provisions of this Act relating to the retirement of councillors.

Subject to any standing orders made by the council, anything authorised or required to be done by, to or before the chairman may be done by, to or before the vice-chairman.

A principal council may pay the vice-chairman for the purpose of enabling him to meet the expenses of his office such allowance as the council think reasonable.

Councillors for a principal area shall be elected by the local government electors for that area in accordance with this Act and Part I of the F8Representation of the People Act 1983.

The ordinary elections of county councillors shall take place in 1973 and every fourth year thereafter, their term of office shall be four years and they shall retire together in every such fourth year on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of county councillors, and in and after 1977 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

The ordinary elections of metropolitan district councillors shall take place in 1973, 1975 and every year thereafter other than F151977 and every fourth year thereafter.

Subject to paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to this Act, the term of office of metropolitan district councillors shall be four years and one-third of the whole number of councillors in each ward of a metropolitan district, being those who have been councillors for the longest time without re-election, shall retire in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in and after 1975 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

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Sections 2 to 7 above shall not apply to F20. . . London borough councils but, subject to subsection (2) below, the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect in relation to them instead.

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For every parish there shall be a parish meeting for the purpose of discussing parish affairs and exercising any functions conferred on such meetings by any enactment and, subject to the provisions of this Act or any instrument made thereunder, for every parish or group of parishes having a parish council before 1st April 1974 there shall continue to be a parish council.

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An order shall not be made under F28section 16 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 establishing a separate parish council for a parish grouped under a common parish council unless by that order or an order under section 11(4) below the parish is separated from the group or the group is dissolved, and where the group is not dissolved, the order under F29section 16 of the Act of 1997 shall make such provision as appears to the district council to be necessary for the alteration of the parish council of the group.

Where the population of a parish having a separate parish council includes not more than 150 local government electors, the parish meeting may apply to the district council for the dissolution of the parish council, and thereupon the district council may by order dissolve the parish council.

Where an application under this section by a parish meeting is rejected, another such application may not be presented by that meeting within two years from the making of the previous application.

The parish meeting of a parish may apply to the district council for an order grouping the parish with some neighbouring parish or parishes in the same district under a common parish council or by adding the parish to an existing group of such parishes under such a council, and the district council may thereupon make an order accordingly, but subject to subsection (2) below.

Parishes shall not be grouped without the consent of the parish meeting of each of the parishes.

The district council may on the application of the council of a group of parishes or of the parish meeting of any parish included in a group of parishes make an order dissolving the group or separating one or more of those parishes from the group, and an order so made shall make such provision as appears to the district council to be necessary for the election of a parish council for any of the parishes in the group, where it is dissolved, and for any of the parishes separated from the group, where it is not.

An order under section 11(1) which forms a new group may make the provision set out in subsection (3).

The provision referred to in subsection (5) is provision that each added parish which has an alternative style shall cease to have an alternative style.

The provision referred to in subsection (7) is provision that each added parish shall (if it does not already have the style) have the same alternative style as the parishes already in the group.

The order under section 11(4) must provide for each de-grouped parish to continue to have the alternative style.

An order made by a district council or district councils under section F37. . . 10 or 11 above may contain such incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provision as may appear to the district council or district councils to be necessary or proper for the purposes or in consequence of the order or for giving full effect thereto, and may include provision with respect to the transfer and management or custody of property (whether real or personal) and the transfer of rights and liabilities.

Two copies of every F39order under section 10 or 11 above shall be sent to the Secretary of State.

This section applies to a parish which is not grouped with any other parish.

The appropriate parish authority may resolve that the parish shall have one of the alternative styles.

If the parish has an alternative style, the appropriate parish authority may resolve that the parish shall cease to have that style.

This section applies to a group of parishes.

The common parish council of the group may resolve that each of the grouped parishes shall have the same alternative style.

If each of the grouped parishes has an alternative style, the common parish council of the group may resolve that each of the grouped parishes shall cease to have that style.

The parish meeting of a parish shall consist of the local government electors for the parish.

Any act of a parish meeting may be signified by an instrument signed by the person presiding and two other local government electors present at the meeting, or, if an instrument under seal is required, by an instrument signed by those persons and sealed with the seal of the parish council in the case of a parish having a separate parish council or the parish trustees in any other case, if that council or those trustees have a seal, or, if they do not, with the seals of those persons.

In a parish not having a separate parish council the chairman of the parish meeting and the proper officer of the district council shall be a body corporate by the name of “the Parish Trustees” with the addition of the name of the parish.

The parish trustees of a parish shall act in accordance with any directions given by the parish meeting.

Notwithstanding anything in any rule of law the parish trustees need not have a common seal, but where they have no seal any act of theirs which requires to be signified by an instrument under seal may be signified by an instrument signed and sealed by the persons who are the parish trustees.

A parish council shall consist of the chairman and parish councillors and shall have all such functions as are vested in the council by this Act or otherwise.

The parish council shall be a body corporate by the name “The Parish Council” with the addition of the name of the particular parish.

Notwithstanding anything in any rule of law, a parish council need not have a common seal, but where a parish council have no seal any act of theirs which is required to be signified by an instrument under seal may be signified by an instrument signed and sealed by two members of the council.

The chairman of a parish council shall be elected annually by the council from among the councillors.

The election of a chairman shall be the first business transacted at the annual meeting of the parish council and if, apart from subsection (8) below, the person presiding at the meeting would have ceased to be a member of the parish council, he shall not be entitled to vote in the election except in accordance with subsection (3) below.

In the case of an equality of votes in the election of a chairman the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any other vote he may have.

The chairman shall, unless he resigns or becomes disqualified, continue in office until his successor becomes entitled to act as chairman.

A parish council may pay the chairman for the purpose of enabling him to meet the expenses of his office such allowance as the council think reasonable.

The parish council may appoint a member of the council to be vice-chairman of the council.

The vice-chairman shall, unless he resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office until immediately after the election of a chairman at the next annual meeting of the council.

During their term of office the chairman and vice-chairman shall continue to be members of the council notwithstanding the provisions of this Act relating to the retirement of parish councillors.

Subject to any standing orders made by the parish council, anything authorised or required to be done by, to or before the chairman may be done by, to or before the vice-chairman.

In a parish not having a separate parish council, the parish meeting shall, subject to any provisions of a grouping order, at their annual assembly elect a chairman for the year who shall continue in office until his successor is elected.

The number of parish councillors for each parish F41shall not be less than five.

Parish councillors shall be elected by the local government electors for the parish in accordance with this Act and Part I of the F42Representation of the People Act 1983.

Subject to any provision included in an order by virtue of section 67 below and to the provisions of paragraphs 12 and 13 of Schedule 3 to this Act, the ordinary elections of parish councillors shall take place in 1976, 1979 and every fourth year thereafter, their term of office shall be three years in the case of those elected at the ordinary elections in 1976 and four years in the case of those elected at ordinary elections held thereafter, and the whole number of parish councillors shall retire together in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

Where a parish is not divided into parish wards there shall be one election of parish councillors for the whole parish.

Where a parish is divided into parish wards there shall be a separate election of parish councillors for each ward.

A parish council may appoint persons to be councillors of the council.

In exercising a function under or by virtue of this section a parish council must have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State about the exercise of that function.

A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

This section applies for the purposes of sections 9 to 16A.

The provisions of a relevant order which provide for a parish to have, or to cease to have, an alternative style are subject to any resolution under section 12A or 12B relating to that parish.

A resolution under section 12A or 12B relating to a parish is subject to any provisions of a relevant order which provide for a parish to have, or to cease to have, an alternative style.

A parish shall cease to have an alternative style if the parish begins to have the status of a town by virtue of section 245(6).