Barnet London Borough Council

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Barnet Council
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1965
Leadership
Nagus Narenthira,
Labour
since 23 May 2023[1]
Barry Rawlings,
Labour
since 24 May 2022[2]
John Hooton
since 31 January 2017[3]
Structure
Seats63 councillors[4]
Political groups
Administration (40)
  Labour (40)
Other parties (23)
  Conservative (22)
  Independent (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, London, NW4 4BQ
Website
www.barnet.gov.uk

Barnet London Borough Council, also known as Barnet Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Barnet in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. The council meets at Hendon Town Hall and has its main offices at 2 Bristol Avenue in Colindale.

History[edit]

There has been a local authority called Barnet since 1863, when the Barnet Local Government District was created for the town of Barnet, also known as Chipping Barnet.[5] Such districts were also created for East Barnet Valley in 1874,[6] Finchley in 1878,[7] Hendon in 1879,[8] and Friern Barnet in 1883.[9] Barnet and East Barnet Valley both straddled Hertfordshire and Middlesex until 1889 when they were placed entirely in Hertfordshire; Hendon, Finchley and Friern Barnet were all in Middlesex.[10]

All five districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894.[11] Barnet was enlarged in 1914 to take in Totteridge,[12] and Hendon was enlarged in 1931 to take in Edgware.[13] Hendon was made a municipal borough in 1932,[14] as was Finchley in 1933.[15] East Barnet Valley was renamed East Barnet in 1935.[16]

The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former boroughs of Finchley and Hendon and urban districts of Barnet, East Barnet and Friern Barnet.[17] The new borough was named Barnet, although the old Barnet Urban District had been the least populous of the five predecessor districts at the 1961 census; nearly half the new borough's population lived in the old borough of Hendon.[18] The area was transferred from Middlesex and Hertfordshire to Greater London, to become one of the 32 London Boroughs. The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Barnet", although it styles itself Barnet Council.[19]

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by 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 boroughs (including Barnet) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Barnet has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.[20]

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.[21]

In 2012 Barnet outsourced many functions to Capita under what it called the 'One Barnet' programme.[22] The scheme was controversial; a local resident tried to challenge the council's decision via a judicial review, but without success.[23][24] Most of the outsourced functions were brought back in-house during 2023.[25]

Governance[edit]

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.[26] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.[27]

Political control[edit]

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022.

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:[28]

Party in control Years
Conservative 1965–1994
No overall control 1994–2002
Conservative 2002–2022
Labour 2022–present

Leadership[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Barnet. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1969 have been:[29][30]

Councillor Party From To
Alan Fletcher Conservative 1969 1973
Andrew Pares Conservative 1973 1975
Leslie Pym Conservative 1975 1991
Roy Schutz Conservative 1991 1994
Alan Williams Labour 1994 2002
Victor Lyon[31] Conservative May 2002 17 May 2005
Brian Salinger Conservative 17 May 2005 16 May 2006
Mike Freer Conservative 16 May 2006 15 Dec 2009
Lynne Hillan Conservative 15 Dec 2009 17 May 2011
Richard Cornelius Conservative 15 Jun 2011 May 2019
Dan Thomas Conservative 21 May 2019 24 May 2022
Barry Rawlings Labour 24 May 2022

Composition[edit]

Following the 2022 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in January 2023, the composition of the council was:[32]

Party Councillors
Labour 40
Conservative 22
Independent 1
Total 63

The next election is due in 2026.

Premises[edit]

2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale: Council's main offices since 2019

The council has its main offices at 2 Bristol Avenue in Colindale, which was completed in 2019.[33][34][35] Council meetings are held at Hendon Town Hall, which had been completed in 1901 for the old Hendon Urban District Council.[36][37]

Barnet House, 1255 High Road, Whetstone: Council's main offices 1986–2019

Prior to 2019 the council's main offices were at Barnet House in Whetstone, which had been built in 1966 as 'Ever Ready House', being the headquarters of the British Ever Ready Electrical Company. The council moved into the building in 1986 and renamed it Barnet House.[38]

Elections[edit]

See also: Barnet London Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 63 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Seats are filled using Plurality block voting; elections are held every four years.[39]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 23 May 2023". Barnet London Borough Council. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Council minutes, 24 May 2022". Barnet London Borough Council. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  3. ^ Peck, Natalie (1 February 2017). "New Chief Executive appointed to Barnet Council". Barnet London Borough Council. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Find your councillors". Barnet Council.
  5. ^ "No. 22776". The London Gazette. 2 October 1863. p. 4745.
  6. ^ "Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act 1874". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  7. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. 1879. p. 442. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  8. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. 1880. p. 501. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  9. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. 1884. p. 370. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  10. ^ Local Government Act 1888
  11. ^ "Local Government Act 1894", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1894 c. 73, retrieved 12 April 2024
  12. ^ "Totteridge Chapelry / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Edgware Chapelry / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Hendon Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Finchley Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  16. ^ "East Barnet Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  17. ^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
  18. ^ "1961 Census of England and Wales, County Report". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  19. ^ "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Barnet v Barnet Football Club Holdings Ltd, 2004". vLex Justis. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
  21. ^ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
  22. ^ "'easyCouncil' Barnet offloads services to Capita in £1bn deal". Evening Standard. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  23. ^ High Court (Administrative Court), Nash, R (on the application of) v Capita Plc & Ors (2013) EWHC 1067 (Admin), published 29 April 2013, accessed 30 August 2022
  24. ^ Keating Chambers, R (NASH) v BARNET LONDON BOROUGH COUNCIL, accessed 30 August 2022
  25. ^ "Council services return in-house as outsourcing contract ends". Barnet Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  29. ^ "Council minutes". Barnet Council. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  30. ^ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  31. ^ O'Neill, Natalie (7 July 2011). "Former leader of Barnet Council Victor Lyon has died". Times Series. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  32. ^ Boothroyd, David (27 January 2023). "Labour scale Keppel's Column". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Council buildings". Barnet Council. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  34. ^ "Colindale Office". Price Myers. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  35. ^ "Financial Performance and Contracts Committee, 11 March 2019" (PDF). Barnet Council. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  36. ^ Historic England. "Hendon Town Hall, Barnet (Grade II) (1294762)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  37. ^ London's Town Halls. London: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1998. p. 11. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Ever Ready House". Modernism in Metro-land. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  39. ^ "The London Borough of Barnet (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2020/1106, retrieved 12 April 2024
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