29Procedure on county reviews
(1)In carrying out their review of the whole or part of the county, a county council shall consult with the councils of the several county districts situated within the county or part, as the case may be, and shall confer with representatives of those councils.
(2)Forthwith after the review is completed, the county council shall submit to the Minister a report on the review together with the proposals as to the changes, if any, which they consider desirable, and shall send copies of the report and any proposals to the councils of the county districts in the area to which the review related, and shall publish in one or more local newspapers circulating in those county districts a notice that the report has been submitted to the Minister, stating whether any proposals have been made and that copies of the report and any proposals are available for inspection at a specified place within the county, and that representations with respect to any proposals may be made to the Minister within two months of the publication of the notice.
(3)The Minister may direct the county council, in carrying out the review, to include in their report observations on any matter specified in the direction, whether or not they make proposals with respect to that matter.
(4)The Minister shall consider any proposal submitted to him by the county council and any representations with respect thereto which have been made by the council of any borough or urban or rural district or parish council or parish meeting, or by any local government electors, being a council, meeting or electors affected thereby, and may then if he thinks fit make an order giving effect to the proposals or any of them, with or without modifications:
Provided that if an objection with respect to any proposal is made by any such council or meeting as aforesaid affected thereby, and is not withdrawn, the Minister shall not make an order giving effect to the proposal without first holding a local inquiry into the objection.
(5)The Minister may direct the county council to submit their report by a date specified in the direction.
(6)If it appears to the Minister, after consultation with such authorities as appear to him to be concerned, that there is a prima facie case for making any change within the powers of a county council on the review, and that the county council have failed to make a proposal for the purpose, the Minister shall publish in one or more local newspapers circulating in the county districts affected a notice stating—
(a)that he has it under consideration to make the change;
(b)that a copy of his proposals is open to inspection at a specified place within the county ; and
(c)that representations with respect thereto may be made to him within two months of the publication of the notice;
and the Minister, after considering any representations duly made, and, if any objections are made by the county council or the council of a borough or urban or rural district or a parish council or parish meeting and are not withdrawn, after holding a local inquiry with respect to the proposals to which the objections relate, may make an order effecting the change or such modified change as appears to him to be expedient:
Provided that where the county council have not submitted proposals they shall not be treated for the purposes of this subsection as having failed to make any particular proposal unless the Minister has fixed a date for the purposes of the foregoing subsection and that date has passed.