Brent London Borough Council

Brent London Borough Council
Whole council elected every four years

Council logo
Type
Type
Structure
Seats 63 councillors in 21 wards
56 / 63
6 / 63
1 / 63
Elections
First past the post
Last election
22 May 2014
Next election
2018
Meeting place
Brent Civic Centre, Wembley
Website
www.brent.gov.uk

Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The borough has seen illegal dumping on the borough’s streets between 2013/14 and 2014/15 surge by 84 per cent, the most recorded by a local authority in England.[1] According to the findings of a survey by property group Rightmove, Brent is the third most unhappiest borough in London, based on a number of factors including décor, space, value, pride, costs, safety, amenities, recreation, community, contentment, neighbourliness and area contentment.[2] Brent has the highest proportion of housing benefit claims by private tenants in the country as a percentage of all households according to the Financial Times.[3]

History

A map showing the wards of Brent since 2002

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Brent as a London local authority would share power with the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council it has been an education authority since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Brent London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation. Brent has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. It is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. The council shares responsibility with the Greater London Authority for strategic policies including housing, planning and the environment.

Finances

Brent London Borough Council is the billing authority for Council Tax, and collects a precepts on behalf of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

Political control

Main article: Brent local elections

Since 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[4]

Party in control Years
Labour 1964 - 1968
Conservative 1968 - 1971
Labour 1971 - 1982
No overall control 1982 - 1986
Labour 1986 - 1990
No overall control 1990 - 1998
Labour 1998 - 2006
No overall control 2006 - 2010
Labour 2010 - present

Composition

As of the 2014 election the council is composed of the following councillors:-[5]

Party Councillors
  Labour Party 56
  Conservative Party 6
  Liberal Democrats 1

References

  1. King, Lorraine (September 1, 2015). "Brent suffers the highest increase in fly-tipping in England". Brent and Kilburn Times. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  2. King, Lorraine (August 6, 2015). "Brent dubbed the third ‘most unhappiest’ borough in London". Brent and Kilburn Times. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. Allen, Kate (August 6, 2015). "Benefit cuts threaten buy-to-let landlords’ income". Financial Times. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  4. "Brent". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  5. "Brent". BBC News Online. Retrieved 19 February 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.