The Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000 (“the 2000 Regulations”). Paragraphs (3) to (5) of regulation 1 provide for the amendments to come into force at different times for different descriptions of local authority, according to whether or not the authority are operating executive arrangements or alternative arrangements under Part II of the Local Government Act 2000 when these Regulations come into force.

Regulation 2(a) makes four amendments to regulation 4 (functions not to be the sole responsibility of an authority’s executive). The effect of the first is to secure that approval of issues papers and draft policies and proposals associated with the preparation of an altered or replacement development plan, prior to public consultation under regulation 10 or 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Plans) (England) Regulation 1999, is not the function of the executive of a local authority.

The effect of the second and third amendments is to limit the responsibility of an authority’s executive to the making of applications—

(a) under section 135(5) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for the inclusion of disposals in a disposals programme, and

(b) for consent to such disposals under section 32 or 43 of the Housing Act 1985.

(By virtue of regulation 4(5) and (6) of the 2000 Regulations, the authority retain the function of authorising the making of such applications.)

The effect of the fourth amendment is to restrict the authority’s executive to authorising, pursuant to orders under section 70 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, the contracting out of functions that are the responsibility of the executive, and to revoking only those authorisations that relate to functions that are the executive’s responsibility.

Parts I, II and III of the Schedule to these Regulations (which are introduced by regulation 2(b) to (d)) set out amendments to Schedules 1, 2 and 3, respectively, to the 2000 Regulations.

The amendments to Schedule 1 (functions not to be the responsibility of an authority’s executive) are primarily concerned with functions relating to public rights of way (the new Part I of paragraph I of that Schedule). Most of the functions in that Part relate to provisions of the Highways Act 1980, as amended or inserted by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The new Part II of paragraph I contains other entries relating to miscellaneous functions, of which some are new. There are some additions to the licensing functions in paragraph B of Schedule 1.

The effect of the amendments to Schedule 2 to the 2000 Regulations (functions which may be (but need not be) the responsibility of an authority’s executive) is that a local authority may decide—

(a) whether the power under section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 to place their staff at the disposal of other local authorities should be exercisable by their executive; and

(b) whether functions in their capacity as a harbour authority (to the extent that those functions are not contained in local Acts, to which paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 is relevant) should be exercisable by their executive.

The amendment to Schedule 3 (functions not to be the sole responsibility of an authority’s executive) is consequential on the Transport Act 2000. Local Transport Plans, prepared under section 108(3) of that Act, become plans to which regulation 4(1) of the 2000 Regulations applies.