Description
Camden London Borough Council, also known as Camden Council, legally The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Camden, is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The council meets at Camden Town Hall and their other premises.
History
The London Borough of Camden and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, the metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn and St Pancras. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished.
The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Camden", but it styles itself Camden Council.
From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by 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 boroughs (including Camden) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Camden became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved.
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.
