The county council may, and does, delegate some of its powers to urban and rural district councils, and the new act regulates co-operation between authorities in various ways, especially in the health services. The county council also receives power to co ordinate the work of town and urban districts in town-planning. In view of the increased work thrown on county councillors and the greater number of attendances, arrangement is made for the payment of their expenses.
The county boroughs stand out side the administrative county area, except as they may be asso ciated in matters of common interest. County boroughs in general have, and were intended to have, a population of over 5o,000; they range from nearly one million inhabitants, as in the case of Birmingham and Liverpool, to under 30,000, such as Canterbury, the smallest, which holds the dignity of a county borough for historical reasons. The Local Government (County Boroughs and Adjustments) Act, 1926, now requires a minimum population of 75,00o for promotion to county borough status. Being self contained and independent units, county boroughs may exercise the whole range of local government functions, which, in the case of the administrative counties, are distributed between the county councils and their component parts according to the status of each. Their councils are elected on the same basis as the county councils and work on a similar system.
are incorporated by royal charter. They may have their own bench of justices, quarter sessions and coroner's court, and, where the population exceeds 50,00o, the borough is the local education authority. The corporation of a borough acts by a council, commonly called the town council, consisting of a mayor, aldermen and councillors. The councillors are elected by the local government electors on the basis of a certain number (usually three, one retiring annually), for each of the wards (q.v.) into which a borough is usually divided. As in the case of a county council, the borough councillors then elect the aldermen, either from among themselves or from persons qualified to be coun cillors. Councillors are elected for three years, aldermen for six years. The mayor is elected by the councillors and non-retiring aldermen, and holds office for one year. Certain boroughs (some 40 in England and Wales) are also entitled to the titular dis tinction of being called a "city," which is conferred by royal charter or letters patent, and in 16 of these the mayor is styled the lord mayor. (See MAYOR.) Certain towns or cities such as
Berwick, Canterbury, Chester, Exeter, etc., which were formerly regarded as counties of themselves, sometimes also bear the designation of "counties of towns" or of cities.
In general, urban and rural district councils share the same powers with regard to public health, housing and town-planning, while urban dis trict councils possess additional powers : the management of trading undertakings, and, where the population exceeds 20,000, various administrative duties relating to education (elementary), old age pensions, shops and other matters. Rural district councils may, however, apply to the minister of health for urban powers. Rural district councils cease to be road authorities under the Local Government Act of 1929.
The civil parish is, in general, the smallest unit. In rural areas the parish council or the parish meeting is still an important element in the chain of local authorities which leads through the rural district and urban district councils to the county council. Among the smaller parishes a single council some times also represents a group of parishes, but can only do so with their consent. In addition to street lighting, the repair and maintenance of footpaths, the protection of rights of way, the charge of parish property, the provision of allotments, as well as various powers under the adoptive acts, the parish council or committee may also be empowered to carry out provisions of the Public Health or other acts by delegation from the rural district or the county council.
In addition to the f ore going primary authorities, boards and committees representing joint local bodies may be formed (and more and more tend to be formed) for special functions. In certain cases also they may be compulsorily formed, as by order of the minister of health for special purposes to prevent overlapping or for common services. Examples are the provision of water supply, for a group of author ities, the formation of a single port sanitary authority where there are joint riparian bodies (a "port" is a place appointed by the Treasury for customs purposes under the act of 1876). Thus there are some 15o joint hospital, asylum, sewerage, burial and water boards and about 6o port sanitary authorities. The standing joint committee of the justices of the peace and the county council for the county, and the watch committee in boroughs, constitute the police authorities.