Havering London Borough Council

Havering London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Havering in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Havering is divided into 18 wards, each electing three councillors. Since May 2018, Havering London Borough Council has been in no overall control. It comprises 25 Conservative Party members, 23 Havering Residents Association members, 5 Labour Party members and 1 Independent member.[1] The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Hornchurch Urban District Council and Romford Borough Council.

Havering London Borough Council
Whole council elected every four years
Council logo
Type
Type
London borough council
History
Founded1 April 1965
Preceded byHornchurch Urban District Council
Romford Borough Council
Leadership
Mayor of Havering
Cllr Michael Deon Burton
since 16 May 2019
Leader of the Council
Cllr Damian White, Conservative
since 3 May 2018
Chief executive
Andrew Blake-Herbert
since 31 March 2016
Structure
Seats54 Councillors
Political groups
Administration (31)
  •      Conservative (25)
  •      Independent Residents Group (6)

Opposition (24)

Committees
Joint committees
Thames Chase Joint Committee
Thames Gateway London Partnership
East London Waste Authority
London Councils
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
3 May 2018
Next election
2022
Motto
Liberty
Meeting place
Havering Town Hall, Romford
Website
www.havering.gov.uk
Constitution
Constitution

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Havering area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Havering on 1 April 1965. Havering replaced Hornchurch Urban District Council and Romford Borough Council. Romford was governed by Romford Urban District Council from 1894 to 1937 and it replaced Noak Hill Parish Council, Havering-atte-Bower Parish Council and Romford Rural District Council in 1934 when the urban district was expanded. Hornchurch Urban District Council was formed in 1926 and replaced Hornchurch Parish Council and Romford Rural District Council in the parish of Hornchurch. In 1934 the urban district was expanded and the council replaced Romford Rural District Council, Cranham Parish Council, Great Warley Parish Council, Rainham Parish Council, Upminster Parish Council and Wennington Parish Council.[2]

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Havering as a London local authority would share power with the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council it has been an education authority since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Havering London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. From 1986 to 2000, the London Planning Advisory Committee was run from within the council. Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.[3]

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation. Havering has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. It is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. The council shares responsibility with the Greater London Authority for strategic policies including housing, planning and the environment.[4]

Finances

Havering London Borough Council is the billing authority for Council Tax, and collects a precepts on behalf of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.[5]

Elections

Electoral arrangements
A map showing the wards of Havering since 2002

Wards were established for Havering when it came into existence on 1 April 1965. The first elections of ward councillors took place in 1964.[6] These boundaries were also used for the 1968, 1971 and 1974 elections. For the 1978 elections the ward boundaries were revised.[7] These boundaries were then also used at the 1982, 1986 and 1990 elections.

For the May 1994 elections there were minor adjustments to London borough boundaries, which affected the area and population of some Havering wards.[8][9] These boundaries were also used at the 1998 elections. The current ward boundaries came into effect at the May 2002 elections.[10] They were also used at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 elections.

Summary results of elections

Since 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[11]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1964–1968
Conservative1968–1971
Labour1971–1974
No overall control1974–1978
Conservative1978–1986
No overall control1986–2006
Conservative2006–2014
No overall control2014–2018
No overall control 2018–present

Leadership

The London Borough of Havering is led by the Leader of the Council and an appointed cabinet formed from the party with majority control of the council. The leader is elected by fellow councillors once every four years following local elections (since 2010, previously annually, with the cabinet being directly appointed by the leader). The current leader is Roger Ramsey who has held the position since 2014. The leadership of the council - once elected - can only subsequently be changed by a vote in favour of such change supported by two thirds of councillors.[12]

Cabinet

The current composition of Havering Council's Cabinet is as follows.

Party key Conservative
East Havering Residents
Post Councillor Ward
Mayor and Deputy Mayor
Mayor of Havering Cllr. Michael Deon Burton South Hornchurch
Deputy Mayor of Havering Cllr. John Mylod Saint Andrews
Cabinet members
Leader of the Council Cllr. Damian White Squirrels Heath
Deputy Leader of the Council
Cabinet Member for Education, Children & Families		 Cllr. Robert Benham Brooklands
Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr. Joshua Chapman Romford Town
Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr. Osman Dervish Pettits
Cabinet Member for Health & Adult Care Services Cllr. Jason Frost Mawney
Cabinet Member for Public Protection and Safety Cllr. Viddy Persaud Brooklands
Cabinet Member for Finance and Property Cllr. Roger Ramsey Emerson Park

Mayor
Further information: List of mayors of Havering

The mayor for 2019/2020 municipal year is Michael Deon Burton.

List of leaders
TermPartyLeaderImage
1967-1971ConservativeCllr. Jack Moultrie
1971-1974LabourCllr. Michael Ward
1974-1977ConservativeCllr. Jack Moultrie
1977-1978ConservativeCllr. William Sibley
1978-1984ConservativeCllr. Jack Moultrie
1984-1990ConservativeCllr. Roger Ramsey
1990-1996LabourCllr. Arthur Latham
1996-1997Residents' AssociationCllr. Louise Sinclair
1997-1998LabourCllr. Wilf Mills
1998-2002LabourCllr. Ray Harris
2002-2004ConservativeCllr. Eric Munday
2004-2014ConservativeCllr. Michael White
2014-2018ConservativeCllr. Roger Ramsey
gollark: You aren't going to produce your own usably sized FPGA *or* recent CPU so it's probably most sensible to just go for really common and more practical devices.
gollark: FPGAs remain quite costly and niche.
gollark: Much more readily available, very multipurpose, still pretty fast.
gollark: Arguably you would be better off with random microcontroller hardware.
gollark: If you're emulating a CPU on your FPGA, then an actual hardware CPU is going to easily beat it.

References
  1. "Election results". Havering London Borough Council.
  2. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
  3. Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
  4. "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. London Borough Council Elections (1964) Archived 2013-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
  7. London Borough Council Elections (1978) Archived 2012-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Alteration of Status of Local Authorities 1993-1994 Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  9. London Borough Council Elections (1994) Archived 2013-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
  10. London Borough Council Elections (2002) Archived 2013-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Local elections: Havering". BBC News Online. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  12. "Council and democracy". Havering London Borough Council.
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