Greater Manchester County Council
1972-1986
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Council minutes 1973-1986; Committee minutes 1973-1989; Chief Executive's Department 1974-1986; Legal Department 1970s-1986; Personnel Department 1947-1974; Passenger Transport Executive 1974-1989
Title:
Greater Manchester County Council
Date of work:
1972-1986
Reference number:
GB124.GMC
Level of description:
Fonds
Includes:
Custodial history:
Greater Manchester was one of six Metropolitan Counties in England, formed under the 1972 Local Government Act.
Between 1974 and 1986 the County area was administered locally by the Greater Manchester County Council and ten Metropolitan District Councils. Together they provided a full range of local government services to over 2.5 million people living within the 500 square miles of Greater Manchester.
Each of the ten District Councils was responsible for providing a specific range of services to the people living in its particular area.
The County Council was responsible for providing other services on a Countywide basis.
These responsibilities were as follows:
The County Council was responsible for the Police Service, Fire Service, Galleries, Passenger Transport, Major Highways, Refuse Disposal, Consumer Protection, Strategic Planning and Road Safety.
The District Councils were responsible for Housing, Education, Libraries and Cultural Services, Sewerage, Refuse Collection, Personal Social Services, Environmental Health and Clean Air Act.
Functions shared were Parks & Country Parks, Museums & Art Galleries, Parks & Recreation, Airport, Minor Highways, Highways Maintenance, Recreation, Reclamation of Derelict Land, Street Lighting, Town & Country Planning, and Industrial Development
The Council
The Council had 106 Members each representing a particular section of the population in the County. It was elected en bloc on a four year cycle (1973,1977,1981,1985 etc) but should individual Members have wished to resign for any reason during their period of office a by-election was held in their particular ward.
The main work of the Council was conducted through its standing committees. The main committees of the County Council were:
Policy, Fire Services, Recreation & Arts, Finance & Estates, Highways, Refuse Disposal, Personnel, Passenger Transport, Transportation Strategy, Corporate Review, Planning, Manchester International Airport Auhtority Consumer Service and Police
Councillors specialised in particular areas of work and most Members sat on two or three of these main committees. Detailed decisions about the working of the Council, including the formulation of broad policies, was considered initially by Standing Committees which submitted their recommendations to a full meeting of the Council.
Administration
The Administrative Headquarters of Council was at County Hall, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. Here the Officers carried out the day to day running of County along the guidelines laid down by the Council.
Departments were established as follows:
Chief Executive's Department
Prior to 1976, this department was known as the County Secretary.
The Chief Executive was the head of all professional staff of the County Council. His role was to co-ordinate the work of all departments and to ensure the efficient management and execution of the Council's functions.
In conjunction with Departmental Chief Officers he investigated, formulated and developed County Council policy with particular emphasis in the areas of economic development and transportation planning. The central Press and Public Relations Office was organisationally responsible to the Chief Executive.
The central Personnel Department, which assisted and advised all Chief Officers on all staffing matters was also responsible to the Chief Executive. At a later stage, Personnel became a department in its own right
He was also responsible for the administration of police prosecution work in the County and for the work of the County Emergency Planning Unit.
The Greater Manchester Economic Development Corporation Limited was linked with the County Council through the Chief Executive and assisted with the execution of the County Council's economic development policies and initiatives.
County Legal Department
The County Legal Officer was responsible for the administration of meetings of the County Council and its Committees. He also advised the Co
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Topics:
Record types:
COLLECTION
Language:
English
Record number:
7185898
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Total copies: 1