Camden London Borough Council

Camden London Borough Council
Whole council elected every four years
Type
Type
Leadership
Georgia Gould, Labour
Mayor
Nadia Shah, Labour
Structure
Seats 54 councillors in 18 wards
Political groups

Executive (38)

Opposition (15)

Vacant (1)

  •      Vacant (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 22 May 2014
Next election
 May 2018
Meeting place
Town Hall, Judd Street
Website
www.camden.gov.uk

Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 18 wards, each electing three councillors.

Following the 2014 election Camden London Borough Council comprises 40 Labour Party councillors, 12 Conservative Party councillors, and one each for the Green Party and the Liberal Democrat Party. In 2013 one Labour councillor resigned the whip and serves as an Independent.

The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced three local authorities: Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council, Holborn Metropolitan Borough Council and St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council.

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Camden area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Camden on 1 April 1965. Camden London Borough Council replaced Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council, Holborn Metropolitan Borough Council and St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council. All three had been created in 1900, in Hamptead and St Pancras the borough councils replaced the parish vestries, and in Holborn the metropolitan borough council replaced the Holborn District Board of Works and the St Giles District Board of Works.

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Camden 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. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Camden London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Camden became an education authority in 1990. 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.

In 2012 it was revealed that Camden local authority has been permanently banned from accessing information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The Big Brother Watch organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services."[1]

Wards

A map showing the wards of Camden since 2002

Since May 2002 the electoral wards in Camden are Belsize, Bloomsbury, Camden Town with Primrose Hill, Cantelowes, Fortune Green, Frognal and Fitzjohns, Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town, Haverstock, Highgate, Holborn and Covent Garden, Kentish Town, Kilburn, King's Cross, Regent's Park, St Pancras and Somers Town, Swiss Cottage and West Hampstead.[2]

Finances

Camden 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.

Summary results of elections

Since 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[3]

Party in control Years
Labour 1964–1968
Conservative 1968–1971
Labour 1971–2006
No overall control 2006–2010
Labour 2010–present

References

  1. ↑ DVLA bans councils from database over abuses, BBC News, 8 December 2012, retrieved 9 December 2012
  2. ↑ Camden government Web site, election results with list of wards
  3. ↑ "Camden". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.