Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council
Type
Type
Unicameral / Non-metropolitan county council of Lancashire
Leadership
Chief Executive
Jo Turton
Leader
Geoff Driver CBE, Conservative
Since May 2017
Chairman
Terry Aldridge, Labour
Structure
44 / 84
30 / 84
4 / 84
4 / 84
1 / 84
1 / 84
Elections
First Past the Post
Last election
 2017
Meeting place
County Hall, Preston, England
Website
www.lancashire.gov.uk

Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. After the Lancashire County Council election, 2017, the council is under Conservative control, having been under no overall control from 2013-17 and under Conservative control from 2009-13. Prior to the Lancashire County Council election, 2009, the county had been under Labour control since 1985.

The Council leader, County Councillor Geoff Driver, chairs a cabinet of eight councillors - the others being A Atkinson (Deputy Leader), P Buckley, S Charles, G Gooch, M Green, K Iddon and V Taylor. The eight cabinet members each have responsibility for particular functions of the council. The Chief Executive is Jo Turton who was appointed in February 2014[1] and heads the Council's 40,000-strong workforce.

History

The council was established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, covering the administrative county. It was reconstituted under the Local Government Act 1972 to cover a different territory. In the 1990s, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool left the area covered by the council.

One Connect

In May 2011 the council's Conservative administration established a partnership with BT Group called One Connect Limited. 40% was owned by the council and 60% by BT. 800 council staff were seconded to it. It was to run various back office functions and it was claimed it would save £400 million over ten years. In 2014 the partnership was dissolved, though some services were still run by BT.[2] A police investigation followed allegations of corrupt practices and fraud. In May 2017 Conservative councillor Geoff Driver, Phil Halsall, the council's former Chief Executive, David McElhinney, former chief executive of One Connect and its sister organisation Liverpool Connect – and Ged Fitzgerald the current Liverpool City Council chief executive and former Lancashire County Council chief executive were arrested “on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and witness intimidation.”[3]

Political makeup

Elections are held every four years.

Election Number of councillors elected by each political party
Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Independent Green Party BNP UKIP Idle Toad
2017 46 30 4 2 1 0 1[4] 0
2013 35 396 3 1 0 0 0
2009 51 16 10 3 2 1 0 1
2005 31 44 6 1 1 0 0 1
2001 27 44 5 1 1 0 0 0

Political control

Election Party in control
2017[5] Conservative
2013 No overall control
2009[6] Conservative
2005 Labour
2001 Labour
1997 Labour
1993 Labour
1989 Labour
1985 Labour
1981 No overall control
1977 Conservative
1973 Conservative

County Library

Lancashire adopted the Public Libraries Act, 1919, in 1924. Library services were slow to develop as the average ratable value of the area outside the county boroughs and the other local authorities which had already adopted the act was relatively low. In 1938/39 the average expenditure on urban libraries per head was 1s. 9d., but that on county libraries was only 8 1/4d. (about two fifths of the former amount). Another disadvantage was that government of libraries was by a libraries sub-committee of the education committee of the council (the librarian having to report to the education officer who might not have been sympathetic to libraries). The central administration of the county library is at Preston where there are special services, special collections and staff to maintain a union catalogue.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Jo Turton appointed as county council Chief Executive". Lancashire County Council. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  2. ↑ "Lancashire County Council to scrap One Connect Limited". Lancashire Post. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "Four leading council figures arrested". Lancashire Post. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  4. ↑ http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/elections/results/2017/divres.asp?div=1206&p=d
  5. ↑ "Lancashire election result 2017". BBC. 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
  6. ↑ "Lancashire election result 2009". BBC. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  7. ↑ Cotton, G. B. (1971) "Public libraries in the North West"; North Western Newsletter; Manchester: Library Association (North Western Branch), no. 116: Libraries in the North West, pp. 5-24 (p. 8)
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