The Local Government Act 2000 (c.22) is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 that reformed local government

Local government

Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

. Its principal purposes are:

• to give powers to local authorities to promote economic, social and environmental well-being within their boundaries

• to require local authorities to shift from their traditional committee-based system of decision-making to an executive model, possibly with a directly elected mayor
  Elected mayors in the United Kingdom
  Directly elected mayors are council leaders elected by the general electorate of a council area for local government, instead of being appointed by members of a local authority, which is common in the United Kingdom. The Elected Mayor is elected from a number of candidates who put themselves up for...
  
   (subject to approval by referendum), and with a cabinet of ruling party group members

• to create a consequent separation of functions with local authorities, with backbench councillors fulfilling an overview and scrutiny
  Overview and Scrutiny
  Overview and Scrutiny is a function of local authorities in England and Wales. It was introduced by the Local Government Act 2000 which created separate Executive and Overview and Scrutiny functions within councils....
  
   role

• to introduce a revised ethical framework for local authorities, requiring the adoption of codes of conduct for elected members and standards committees to implement the codes of conduct; the introduction of a national Standards Board
  Standards Board for England
  Standards for England, formerly known as the Standards Board for England, is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Established following the Local Government Act 2000, it is responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local democracy...
  
   and Adjudication Panel
  Adjudication Panel for England
  The Adjudication Panel for England was an independent judicial tribunal set up under the Local Government Act 2000. It was a Non-departmental public body which ruled on complaints referred to it by the Standards Board for England regarding alleged breaches of English local authorities' codes of...
  
   to deal with complaints and to oversee disciplinary issues

The introduction of directly elected mayors

Elected mayors in the United Kingdom

Directly elected mayors are council leaders elected by the general electorate of a council area for local government, instead of being appointed by members of a local authority, which is common in the United Kingdom. The Elected Mayor is elected from a number of candidates who put themselves up for...

 was the most radical innovation in the Act. About thirty local referendums have been held, the majority of which have decided against the elected mayor option.

Options for council executive forms

The act provided that the executive of a local authority must take one of the following forms:

• Leader and cabinet executive
• Mayor and cabinet executive
• Mayor and council manager executive
• Alternative arrangement (Sec.31)

The mayor and council manager executive option was repealed by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Act allows for the implementation of many provisions outlined in the Government white paper Strong and Prosperous Communities including changes to local government in England...

.

External links

.

• The Local Government Act 2000, as originally enacted, from the Office of Public Sector Information
  Office of Public Sector Information
  The Office of Public Sector Information is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and of other public information services of the United Kingdom...
  
  .
• Explanatory notes to the Local Government Act 2000 from the Office of Public Sector Information.