Lancashire County Council

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.

Lancashire County Council has a two-tier system, and is split up into 12 districts and two unitary authorities which are responsible for the administration of various services within Lancashire, such as recycling.[3]

The prospect of dividing Lancashire into three unitary authorities under one combined authority is currently being discussed, which would see Lancashire County Council and the various district councils abolished.[4]

There are sixteen Parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire. The Conservative Party holds 11, the Labour Party holds four, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, represents Chorley.

Elections are held every four years. The next election is scheduled to take place in May 2021, having been delayed for a year due to COVID-19. Councillors elected in the 2021 election will only serve for a three year term, to ensure that the elections scheduled for 2024 take place as normal.

As of December 2020, the Conservative Party holds 44 seats on the council, a majority of two seats. The next largest party is the Labour Party, which holds 30 seats. There are four Liberal Democrats, and five Independents.

In July 2020, County Hall announced that it wanted to replace itself and the 14 other councils that currently make up Lancashire's complex local government map with three standalone authorities. In September 2020 County Hall submitted an outline plan to the government that outlines the proposed new unitary authorities and the areas they would cover. The new authorities would be, Central Lancashire (based on the footprints of Preston, Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire councils), North West Lancashire (Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster and Ribble Valley) and East Pennine Lancashire (Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rossendale, Hyndburn and Pendle). These authorities would be governed by an elected mayor, with a combined authority. The Major shake up to Lancashire's council structure is in a bid to gain more funding and power for the people of Lancashire.[10]

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.[11]

• Lancashire County Council