Public Health Act 1875

PART II AUTHORITIES FOR EXECUTION OF ACT.

CONSTITUTION OF DISTRICTS AND AUTHORITIES.

5 Urban and rural sanitary districts.

For the purposes of this Act England, except the Metropolis, shall consist of districts to be called respectively—

(1) Urban sanitary districts, and

(2) Rural sanitary districts,

(in this Act referred to as urban and rural districts) ; and such urban and rural districts shall respectively be subject to the jurisdiction of local authorities, called urban sanitary authorities and rural sanitary authorities (in this Act referred to as urban and rural authorities), invested with the powers in this Act mentioned.

6 Description of urban districts and urban authorities.

Urban districts shall consist of the places in that behalf mentioned in the first column of the table in this section contained, and urban authorities shall be the several bodies of persons specified in the second column of the said table in relation to the said places respectively.

Urban District.	Urban Authority.
Borough constituted such either before or after the passing of this Act.	The Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses-acting by the Council.
Improvement Act district constituted such before the passing of this Act, and having no part of its area situated within a borough or local government district.	The Improvement Commissioners.
Local Government district constituted such either before or after the passing of this Act, having no part of its area situated within a borough, and not coincident in area with a borough or Improvement Act district.	The Local Board.

Provided that—

(1) Any borough, the whole of which is included in and forms part of a Local Government district or Improvement Act district, and any Improvement Act district which is included in and forms part of a Local Government district, and any Local Government district which is included in and forms part of an Improvement Act district, shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be absorbed in the larger district in which it is included, or of which it forms part; and the improvement commissioners or local board, as the case may be, of such larger district, shall be the urban authority therein ; and

(2) Where an Improvement Act district is coincident in area with a Local Government district, the improvement commissioners, and not a local board, shall be the urban authority therein ; and

(3) Where any part of an Improvement Act district is situated within a borough or Local Government district, or where any part of a Local Government district is situated within a borough, the remaining part of such Improvement Act district or of such Local Government district so partly situated within a borough shall for the purposes of this Act continue subject to the like jurisdiction as it would have been subject to if this Act had not been passed, unless and until the Local Government Board by provisional order otherwise directs.

For the purposes of this Act, the boroughs of Oxford, Cambridge, Blandford, Calne, Wenlock, Folkestone, and Newport Isle of Wight, shall not be deemed to be boroughs, and the borough of Cambridge shall be deemed to be an Improvement Act district, and the borough of Oxford to be included in the Local Government district of Oxford. So much of the borough of Folkestone as is not included within the Local Government district of Sandgate shall he an urban district, and shall be under the jurisdiction, for the purposes of this Act, of the authority for executing " The Folkestone Improvement Act, 1855."

7 Incorporation of local boards and improvement commissioners.

Every local board, and any improvement commissioners being an urban authority and not otherwise incorporated, shall continue to be or be a body corporate, designated (in the case of local boards and improvement commissioners being urban sanitary authorities at the time of the passing of this Act) by such name as they then bear, and (in the case of local boards constituted after the passing of this Act) by such name as they may with the sanction of the Local Government Board.adopt ; with a perpetual succession and a common seal, and with power to sue and be sued in such name, and to hold lands without any license in mortmain for the purposes of this Act.

8 Election of local boards.

The members of local boards shall be elective ; and the number and qualification of members of local boards, the qualification of electors, the mode and expenses of election, and the proceedings incident thereto, the retirement and disqualification of members, the proceedings in case of lapse of a local board, and all other matters relating to the election of members of local boards, shall be governed by the rules contained in Schedule 11. to this Act.

9 Description of rural districts and rural authorities.

The area of any union which is not coincident in area with an urban district, nor wholly included in an urban district (in this section called a rural union), with the exception of those portions (if any) of the area which are included in any urban district, shall be a rural district, and the guidance of the union shall form the rural authority of such district : Provided that—

(1) An ex-officio guardian resident in any parish or part of a parish belonging to such union, which parish or part of a parish forms or is situated in an urban district, shall not act or vote in any case in which guardians of such union act or vote as members of the rural authority, unless he is the owner or occupier of property situated in the rural district of a value sufficient to qualify him as an elective guardian for the union :

(2) An elective guardian of any parish belonging to such union, and forming or being wholly included within an urban district, shall not act .or Vote in any case in which guardians of such union act or vote as members of the rural authority :

(3) Where part of a parish belonging to a rural union forms or is situated in an urban district, the Local Government Board may by order divide such parish into separate wards, and determine the number of guardians to be elected by such wards respectively, in such manner as to provide for the due representation of the part of the parish situated within the rural district ; but until such order has been made the guardian or guardians of such parish may act and vote as members of the rural authority in the same manner as if no part of such parish formed part "of or was situated in an urban district.

Where the number of elective guardians who are not by this section disqualified from acting and voting as members of the rural authority is less than five, the Local Government Board may from time to time by order nominate such number of persons as may be necessary to make up that number from owners or- occupiers of property situated in the rural district of a value sufficient to qualify them as elective guardians for the union, and, the persons so nominated shall be entitled to act and vote as members of the rural authority but not further or otherwise.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, all statutes orders and legal provisions applicable to any board of guardians shall apply to them in their capacity of rural authority under this Act for purposes of this Act; and it is hereby declared that the rural authority are the same body as the guardians of the union or parish for or within which such authority act.

10 Powers and duties of urban authorities.

In addition to the powers rights duties capacities liabilities and obligations exerciseable by or attaching to an urban authority under this Act, every urban authority shall within their district (to the exclusion of any other authority which may have previously exercised or been subject to the same) have exercise and be subject to all the powers rights duties capacities liabilities and obligations within such district exerciseable or attaching by and to the local authority under the Bakehouse Regulation Act, and the Artizans and Labourers Dwellings Act, or any Acts amending the same.

Where the Baths and Wash-houses Acts and the Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Acts, or any of them, are in force within the district of any urban authority, such authority shall have all powers rights duties capacities liabilities and obligations in relation to such Acts exerciseable by or attaching to the council incorporated commissioners local board improvement commissioners and other commissioners or persons acting in the execution of the said Acts, or any of them.

Where the Baths and Wash-houses Acts are not in force within-the district of any urban authority, such authority may adopt such Acts ; and where the Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Acts are not in force within the district of any urban authority, such authority may adopt such Acts.

Where any local Act other than an Act for the conservancy of any river is in force within the district of an urban authority, conferring on any commissioners trustees or other persons powers, for purposes the same as or similar to those of this Act (but not for their own pecuniary benefit), all the powers rights duties capacities liabilities and obligations of such commissioners trustees or other persons in relation to such purposes shall be transferred and attach to the said urban authority.

11 Powers and duties of rural authorities.

In addition to the powers rights duties capacities liabilities and obligations exerciseable by or attaching to a rural authority under this Act, every rural authority shall, within their district, (to the exclusion of any other authority which may have previously exercised or been subject to the same) have exercise and be subject to all the powers rights duties capacities liabilities and obligations within such district exerciseable by or attaching to the local authority under the Bakehouse Regulation Act, or any Acts amending the same.

12 Vesting of property in local authorities.

From and after the passing of this Act all such property real and personal, including all interests rights and easements in to and out of property real and personal (including things in action), as belongs to or is vested in, or would but for this Act have belonged to or been vested in the council of any borough, or any improvement commissioners or local board as the urban sanitary authority of any ' district under the Sanitary Acts, or any board of guardians as the rural sanitary authority of any district under those Acts, shall continue vested or vest in such council, improvement commissioners, or local board, or board of guardians as the local authority of their; district under this Act, subject to all debts liabilities and obligations affecting the same property.

All debts liabilities and obligations incurred by any authority whose powers rights duties liabilities capacities and obligations are under this Act exerciseable by or attached to a local authority may be enforced against the local authority to the same extent and in the same manner as they might have been enforced against the authority which incurred the same.