Catalogue description Lancashire County Council - post 1974

LCC1 Council

LCC2 Committees

LCC3 Sub-committees

LCC4 Officer groups

LCC5 Chief Executive/Clerk's Department

LCC6 Surveyor's Department

LCC7 Joint committees

LCC8 Lieutenancy

LCC9 Education Department

LCC10 Architect's Department

LCC11 Planning Department

LCC12 County Library

LCC13 County Fire Brigade

LCC14 District Education Offices Uncatalogued

LCC15 Chief Prosecuting Solicitor Uncatalogued

LCC16 Estates Department Uncatalogued

LCC17 Lancashire Police Authority

LCC18 Property Services Department Uncatalogued

LCC19 Treasurer's Department Uncatalogued

LCC20 Social Services Department Uncatalogued

LCC21 Social Services Directorate Uncatalogued

LCC22 Resources Directorate Uncatalogued

LCC23 Environment Directorate Uncatalogued

LCC24 Education and Cultural Services Directorate Uncatalogued

Lancashire County Council

Most minutes and all published material such as reports are open to the public. Other records are on restricted access for 30 years, though a few files have a longer period as marked. Each request for access will be dealt with individually

This is the archive of the 'new' County Council which was created under the 1972 Local Government Act, taking effect on 1 April 1974. (The records of the old County Council are catalogued as a separate entity, under the general reference CC, though in some exceptional cases they include post-1974 documents).

The new Lancashire was smaller in population and area than the old. The main losses were the South-East of the old county which became Greater Manchester, and parts of the South- West which became Merseyside; while the Widnes and Warrington area was transferred to Cheshire and the Furness area to Cumbria. The new county however gained the Forest of Bowland from the West Riding of Yorkshire.

In April 1998 two parts of the county became administratively independent: Blackpool and Blackburn-with-Darwen. In effect, the existing borough councils for those areas became unitary authorities, providing all local government services.

At the same time, the County Council restructured its administration, creating four directorates out of seven departments.

A description of LCCin the 1980's

The Lancashire County Council is responsible for the provision of a number of major local government services, including education, social services, highways and transportation, fire, libraries, certain planning functions, waste disposal and various functions in the area of 'public protection'. The Police Committee of the County Council is also the Police Authority for the County.

The County Council is responsible for services for nearly 1.4m people living in an area extending from Carnforth in the North, to Skelmersdale/Chorley in the south and from the Pennines in the east to the Coast in the West, an area of over 300,000 hectares. The Council's annual revenue budget now approaches £1b per annum. In order to undertake its responsibilities the County Council employs some 50,000 full-time and part-time staff.

The first Lancashire County Council came into being in 1889. It was responsible for services in 'geographical Lancashire' an area extending to the environs of Liverpool and Manchester in the South and embracing the Furness area in the North. In the years prior to 1974 there were a number of independent County Boroughs within the geographical county who were completely independent of the County Council. In 1974, a major reorganisation of local government was undertaken. A new Lancashire County Council was established for the existing administrative County area and independent County Boroughs were abolished.

The County Council consists of 99 members, elected to serve for a term of four years. The County Council itself holds seven meetings a year, one of which is a Budget meeting. The County Council works through seven main Service Committees (many of which have a variety of Sub-Committees):-

Education Committee

Social Services Committee

Highways and Transportation Committee

Planning, Industrial Development and Tourism Committee

Library, Museums and Arts Committee

Fire Service and Public Protection Committee

Police

In addition there is the Policy and Resources Committee which undertakes a continuing review of the County Council's broad policy objectives and priorities as well as considering many matters which need to be dealt with on a corporate basis. The Committee has three Sub-Committees with responsibility for the main resources available to the County Council (finance, employees and property) namely, the Finance, Personnel and Land and Buildings Sub-Committees. There is also a Welfare Rights Sub-Committee responsible for the Welfare Rights Service.

The day to day work of the authority within policies determined by the County Council is discharged by Departments which relate to their respective parent Committees and are under the direction of specialist Chief Officers. The Chief Officers responsible for the main Service Departments are:-

The Chief Education Officer

The Director of Social Services

The County Surveyor

The County Planning Officer

The County Librarian

The Chief Fire Officer

In addition there are three Chief Officers with responsibility for providing the main support services for the Council and its Departments, rather than a service direct to the public. These are:-

The Chief Executive/Clerk

The County Treasurer

The Director of Property Services

The Police Force is under the direction of the Chief Constable who, like all police officers, is not an officer of the County Council

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