Hampshire County Council
British administrative body and municipal art collection

Hampshire County Council
Coat of arms or logo
Depiction of Coat of arms
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1889
Leadership
Keith Mans,
Conservative
since 23 May 2024[1]
Nick Adams-King,
Conservative
since 23 May 2024
Carolyn Williamson
since 19 July 2021 [2]
Structure
Seats78 councillors [3]
Hampshire County Council composition
Political groups
Administration (51)
  Conservative (51)
Other parties (26)
  Liberal Democrats (17)
  Independent (3)
  Labour (3)
  Green (2)
  Whitehill & Bordon Community Party (1):
  Vacant (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
6 May 2021
Next election
1 May 2025
Meeting place
The Castle, Upper High Street, Winchester, SO23 8UJ[4]
Website
www.hants.gov.uk
Constitution
Hampshire County Council - The Constitution

Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. The county council acts as the upper tier of local government to approximately 1.4 million people.[5] It is one of 21 county councils in England.

Whilst they form part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire, the two cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are unitary authorities, independent from Hampshire County Council. The county council comprises 78 elected councillors, who meet in the city of Winchester, which is the county town.[6]

Since 1997, the council has been controlled by the Conservatives.[7]

In November 2022, the county council warned it may face bankruptcy within 12 months due to austerity cuts, alongside similar warnings from Kent County Council.[8]

History

Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the Quarter Sessions. The boroughs of Portsmouth and Southampton were both considered large enough to provide their own county-level services, so they became county boroughs, independent from the county council. The county council was elected by and provided services to the remainder of the county outside those two boroughs, which area was termed the administrative county.[9]

The first elections were held in January 1889, and the council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at Winchester Castle. George Sclater-Booth, Lord Basing, a Conservative peer and former Member of Parliament, was appointed the first chairman of the council.[10]

The Isle of Wight was covered by Hampshire County Council when it was created in 1889, but soon after it was decided that the island should have its own county council, and so it was made a separate administrative county with effect from 1 April 1890.[11] Bournemouth was made a county borough in 1900, removing it from the administrative county of Hampshire.[12]

The council's legal name until 1959 was the "County Council of the County of Southampton", although the name "Hampshire County Council" was used informally from the council's creation in 1889.[10] The name was officially changed to Hampshire County Council with effect from 1 April 1959.[13]

Local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which made Hampshire a non-metropolitan county. As part of the 1974 reforms it ceded an area in the south-west of the county including Christchurch to Dorset, but the county council gained authority over Portsmouth and Southampton. The lower tier of local government was rearranged at the same time, with the county being divided into thirteen non-metropolitan districts.[14]

The council was granted a coat of arms in 1992.[15]

In 1997 Portsmouth and Southampton regained their independence from the county council when they were made unitary authorities following a review by Local Government Commission for England.[16] They remain part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[17] In 2015 the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association unanimously agreed to support a 'pan-Hampshire' combined authority, but the bid was eventually unsuccessful.[18]

Governance

Hampshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's eleven district councils.[19]

The county council has authority over the pink area, formally called the non-metropolitan county. The wider ceremonial county of Hampshire additionally includes the two unitary authorities of Southampton (8) and Portsmouth (12) shown in yellow.

The ceremonial county is divided into thirteen districts, with the county council having responsibility for the eleven districts excluding the two unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which area is formally called the non-metropolitan county.[20]

  1. Test Valley
  2. Basingstoke and Deane
  3. Hart
  4. Rushmoor
  5. Winchester
  6. East Hampshire
  7. New Forest
  8. Southampton (unitary)
  9. Eastleigh
  10. Fareham
  11. Gosport
  12. Portsmouth (unitary)
  13. Havant

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1997.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[21]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1974–1977
Conservative1977–1985
No overall control1985–1989
Conservative1989–1993
No overall control1993–1997
Conservative1997–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1976 have been:[22]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Freddie Emery-WallisConservative19761993
Mike HancockLiberal Democrats19931997
Freddie Emery-WallisConservative19971999
Ken Thornber[23]Conservative199923 May 2013
Roy PerryConservative23 May 201317 May 2019
Keith MansConservative17 May 201919 May 2022
Rob HumbyConservative19 May 202223 May 2024
Nick Adams-KingConservative23 May 2024

Composition

Following the 2021 election and changes of allegiance and by-elections up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:

PartyCouncillors
Conservative52
Liberal Democrats18
Independent3
Labour3
Green1
Whitehill and Bordon Community Party1
Total78

Two of the independent councillors and the Whitehill and Bordon Community Party councillor sit together as the "Independent Group".[24] The other independent councillor does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2025.

Premises

The council's main offices and meeting place are at Winchester Castle, parts of which date back to 1067. The council's part of the castle complex is known as Castle Hill and comprises more recent buildings added to the historic castle site, notably in 1895, 1912 and 1933.[25][26] The council also has area offices in Basingstoke, Farnborough, Havant and Totton.[27]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has comprised 78 councillors, representing 76 electoral divisions, with two divisions electing two councillors and the rest electing one each. Elections are held every four years.[28]

Notable members

References

  1. ^ Oliver, Toby (23 May 2024). "Hampshire County Council elects new leader and chairman". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Chief Executive Officer of Hampshire County Council". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Your Councillors". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Map" (PDF). Hampshire County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Hampshire Population". Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Your Councillors". democracy.hants.gov.uk. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  7. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (2015). Hampshire County Council Election Results 1973-2009 (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Hampshire and Kent councils warn they could go bankrupt in less than a year". ITV News. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Local Government Act 1888", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1888 c. 41, retrieved 27 August 2023
  10. ^ a b "Hants County Council: Settling down to business". Evening News. Portsmouth. 2 April 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Local Government Board's Provision Order Confirmation (No. 2) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 177)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Bournemouth Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Hampshire will be Hampshire - officially". Hampshire Telegraph and Post. Portsmouth. 27 February 1959. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  14. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  15. ^ "Hampshire County Council brand permissions: Coat of arms". Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  16. ^ "The Hampshire (Cities of Portsmouth and Southampton) (Structural Change) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1775, retrieved 30 August 2023
  17. ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 30 August 2023
  18. ^ "Coast joint authority plan dropped". BBC News. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  20. ^ "About the Council | Government in Hampshire". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Council minutes". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Hampshire's former council leader Ken Thornber dies". BBC News. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Your councillors by political grouping". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  25. ^ Historic England. "Castle Hill Offices, County Hall (1167140)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  26. ^ Historic England. "Castle Avenue Offices, County Hall (1167078)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Office locations and directions". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  28. ^ "The Hampshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/1223, retrieved 30 August 2023
  29. ^ Problems and Progress in Old People's Welfare: Report of the Third National Conference on the Care of Old People, 26th & 27th November, 1948 (National Old People's Welfare Committee, 1949), p. 2
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