Local Government and Rating Act 1997
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 (c. 29) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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- England and Wales (in part)
- Scotland (in part)
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to make further provision about non-domestic rating; to make further provision about parishes and parish councils; to confer additional powers on parish councils and community councils; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1997 c. 29 |
| Territorial extent |
|
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 19 March 1997 |
| Commencement | various[c] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | |
| Repeals/revokes | Rating and Valuation (Apportionment) Act 1928 |
| Amended by | |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
Provisions
The act allows a community at the village, neighbourhood, town or similar level beneath a district or borough council to demand its own elected parish or town council. Under the act, parish councils took on more powers relating to crime prevention, traffic management and transport.[1][2]
The act removed the crown immunity from non-domestic rates in England, Wales, and Scotland, with the Rates (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 providing for the equivalent policy for Northern Ireland.[3]
This right only applies to communities within England and outside of Greater London. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 would later extend the parish petition right to places within Greater London.
Section 11 of the act allows any such community to collect a petition for a new parish or town council and also to define the area that it shall cover. Once the petition meets a certain threshold of registered electors’ signatures, the local metropolitan borough council, district council or unitary authority cannot stop it. The final decision as to whether any community can have its own parish council is down to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
