ABSTRACT
The Local Government Act broke new ground in giving the Minister a residual power to initiate changes in default of proposals made by the Commission and in excluding the metropolitan area from the jurisdiction of the Local Government Commission. The statute, like the White Paper, lays down no principles for determining the rival claims of county councils and county borough councils, which have been and still are a great source of hostility and conflict in local government. The Commission begins its review by inquiring into the prevailing conditions and consulting all the local authorities concerned, together with any other public authorities or unofficial bodies or individuals which may wish to make respresentations. The Local Government Commission is required to follow an elaborate procedure which weights the scale heavily against change. The Local Government Boundary Commission had a direct duty of making orders which were subject to parliamentary confirmation but not to rejection or modification by the Department concerned.
