Catalogue description Local Government Commission for England (Hancock Commission): Minutes, Reports and Papers

The Local Government Act, 1958, provided for the setting up of two Local Government Commissions - one for England (except for the Greater London area) and the other for Wales and Monmouthshire.

The Local Government Commission for England was appointed on 31st October, 1958, the chairman being Sir Henry Hancock, C.C.B., K.B.E., C.M.G.

The commissions were required to carry out reviews of the counties and county boroughs and to propose any changes which, in the interests of effective and convenient local government, they found desirable in the numbers and boundaries of these authorities. In areas defined as Special Review Areas the Commission for England had the task of reviewing the county districts and the distribution of local government functions as well. Otherwise county districts were to be the subject of separate and later reviews by the county councils.

The Third Schedule to the Act defined five special review areas - The Tyneside, West Yorkshire, South-East Lancashire, Merseyside and West Midlands conurbations. Other such areas could be specified by Ministerial Order but none were so specified. The Merseyside and South East Lancashire Special Review Areas were extended by Orders of the Minister in 1965,(The Merseyside Special Review Area Order 1965 - SI 905/65: the South East Lancashire Special Review Area Order 1965 - SI No. 906/65) and the Tyneside Special Review Area was extended in 1961. (The Tyneside Special Review Area Order 1961 - SI No. 1359/61).

The Minister of Housing and Local Government made the Local Government Commission Regulations 1958 (S.I.1958 No. 2115) setting out a number of considerations to which the commission was to have regard when reviewing an area and some additional considerations for special review areas.

The Act prescribed the procedure to be followed by the commission: Firstly, public notice was given of the intention to review, followed by consultation with all the local authorities in the area, and with other bodies concerned. The commission deliberated and produced draft proposals, either for change or preserving the status quo. These were put to the local authorities and other bodies consulted and made available for public inspection. The commission then considered representations, and conferred with interested parties before formulating final proposals and reporting to the Minister.

The commission submitted final reports to the Minister on the following areas: The West Midlands Special Review Area; the West Midlands General Review Area; the East Midlands General Review Area; the South Western General Review Area; the Tyneside Special Review Area; the North Eastern General Review Area; the West Yorkshire Special Review Area; the York and North Midlands General Review Area and the Lincolnshire and East Anglia General Review Area. Draft proposals for the North Western General Review Area and the Merseyside and South East Lancashire Special Review Areas were published during 1965 and the review of the Southern General Review Area opened.

The minister for his part ensured that the commission's report and final proposals for a review area were made known locally, gave an opportunity for representations to be made to him about them and held a public local inquiry where there were objections. He then made an Order to implement his decisions on those proposals which was laid before Parliament with the commission's report on which it was based.

On 10th February, 1966, the Prime Minister announced that a Royal Commission would be appointed to undertake a comprehensive review of local government. It was intended that the new commission should have much broader terms of reference than the existing commission. The work of the Local Government Commission for England would therefore be discontinued.