Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act to create community charges in favour of certain authorities, to create new rating systems, to provide for precepting by certain authorities and levying by certain bodies, to make provision about the payment of grants to certain authorities, to require certain authorities to maintain certain funds, to make provision about the capital expenditure and the administration of the financial affairs of certain authorities, to abolish existing rates, precepts and similar rights, to abolish rate support grants and supplementary grants for transport purposes, to make amendments as to rates and certain grants, to make certain amendments to the law of Scotland as regards community charges, rating and valuation, to provide for the establishment of valuation and community charge tribunals, and for connected purposes. |
---|---|
Citation | 1988 c. 41 |
Territorial extent | Great Britain |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 29 July 1988 |
Commencement | 1 April 1989 |
Status: Amended | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The Local Government Finance Act 1988 introduced significant reforms to local taxation in the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland). The old systems of rates were replaced by the Community Charge (for individuals) and business rates (for businesses). The Community Charge was extremely unpopular, leading to the poll tax riots of 1990, [1] and contributing to the resignation of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister later that year. [2]
The sections of the Act pertaining to the Community Charge were repealed by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, which introduced the new Council Tax as a replacement from 1993.
Section 114 notices are reports issued by the chief financial officer (or Section 151 officer) of a British public body to prevent certain types of expenditure. The notices take their name from section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. [3] [4]
The most common type of notice is made under section 114(3) which restricts all spending except for that which funds statutory services. [5] [6] Despite the fact that local authorities in the United Kingdom cannot go bankrupt, [7] issuing a section 114 notice is often described in the media as a council effectively declaring bankruptcy. Most councils under a section 114 notice will then pass a new budget to introduce cuts and reduce spending. [7]
Amongst other instances, section 114 notices have been issued by Hackney Council in 2000, Northamptonshire Council twice in 2018, [8] Croydon Council in 2020 and 2022, [9] Slough Council in 2021, [10] Thurrock Council in 2022, [11] and Woking Borough Council and Birmingham City Council in 2023. [12] [13]The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north.
The Community Charge, commonly known as the poll tax, was a system of taxation introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in replacement of domestic rates in Scotland from 1989, prior to its introduction in England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate, per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the local authority. The charge was replaced by Council Tax in 1993, two years after its abolition was announced.
Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2010 to 2015. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2009 to 2010 and was later the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion from 2015 to 2017.
Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authorities, and regional authorities. Every part of England is governed by at least one local authority, but parish councils and regional authorities do not exist everywhere. In addition, there are 31 police and crime commissioners, four police, fire and crime commissioners, and ten national park authorities with local government responsibilities. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place in 1974.
Nottingham City Council is the local authority for Nottingham, a unitary authority with city status. Nottingham is in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England, but as a unitary authority the city council is administratively independent from the surrounding Nottinghamshire County Council. The city council consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. The council is led by David Mellen, of the majority Labour Party.
The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer.
Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 and abolished in 2021. The headquarters of the council was County Hall in Northampton.
Slough Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Slough, in Berkshire, England. Slough is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonial county, with no administrative responsibilities.
Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough in the East of England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The City was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1874; from 1888, it fell within the jurisdiction of the Soke of Peterborough county council and from 1965, Huntingdon and Peterborough county council. In 1974, it was replaced by a wholly new non-metropolitan district, broadly corresponding to the Soke, in the new enlarged Cambridgeshire. In 1998, Peterborough became independent of Cambridgeshire as a unitary authority, but the city continues to form part of that county for ceremonial purposes as defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997.
Havering London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Havering in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Havering is divided into 18 wards, each electing three councillors. Since May 2018, Havering London Borough Council has been in no overall control. It comprises 22 Havering Residents Association members, 20 Conservative Party members, 9 Labour Party members, 3 East Havering Residents' Group members and 1 Upminster and Cranham Residents Association member. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Hornchurch Urban District Council and Romford Borough Council.
Thurrock Council is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Thurrock is a unitary authority, having the powers and functions of a county council and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. The council is based in Grays.
Government spending in the United Kingdom, also referred to as public spending, is the total spent by Central Government departments and certain other bodies as authorised by Parliament through the Estimates process. It includes net spending by the three devolved governments: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The United Kingdom government austerity programme is a fiscal policy that was adopted for a period in the early 21st century following the Great Recession. The term was used by the Coalition and Conservative governments in office from 2010 to 2019, and again during the 2021–present cost of living crisis. The two periods are separated by a stint of interventionist, Keynesian spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Croydon London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, electing 70 councillors.
Northampton Borough Council was the borough council and non-metropolitan district responsible for local government in the large town of Northampton in England. In 2021 the council was abolished and succeeded by West Northamptonshire Council; a unitary authority, and the Northampton Town Council, a parish council.
Woking Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Woking in the county of Surrey, England. The council consists of 30 councillors, three for each of the 10 wards in the town. It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, led by Ann-Marie Barker. The borough council is based at Woking Civic Offices.
Andrew Iain Lewer is a British Conservative Party politician. Elected as the Member of Parliament for Northampton South in the 2017 general election, he previously served as Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands from 2014 to 2017. He is the only person in the UK to have served as a Council Leader, MEP and MP.
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove is a British Conservative Party politician who is Minister of State for Legal Migration and Delivery. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Corby since May 2015. He has previously served as Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, Minister of State for Immigration, and Minister of State for Crime and Policing. Aged 26 at the time of his election, he was the youngest Conservative MP of the 2015–17 Parliament.
In the 2022 Croydon London Borough Council election, on 5 May 2022, all 70 members of Croydon London Borough Council, and the Mayor of Croydon, were up for election. The elections took place alongside the local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom. Jason Perry of the Conservative Party narrowly won the mayoral election.
Section 114 notices are reports issued by the chief financial officer of a British public body to prevent certain types of expenditure. The notices take their name from section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.