Duty of existing councils to assist new councils
4.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an existing council shall provide a new council with such assistance and information as that new council may reasonably request for the purposes of discharging, whether before or after 1st April 2015, any of its functions.
(2) An existing council shall furnish information requested in accordance with paragraph (1) to a new council within such period as the parties may agree.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall have effect, subject to any statutory prohibition or restriction, rule of law or order of a Court.
(4) A new council may not require information to be provided by an existing council whose local government district does not correspond, at least in part, with the district of the new council.
(5) A predecessor council shall provide to its new council—
(a)suitable premises and facilities; and
(b)administrative staff.
(6) Any costs incurred by a new council shall be defrayed amongst its predecessor councils in proportion to the population of the local government district of the existing council that will become part of the district of the new council.
(7) For the purposes of paragraph (6), the costs incurred by a new council shall include the cost of anything provided to a new council by a predecessor council in accordance with paragraph (5).
(8) For the purposes of paragraph (6), in relation to costs incurred by the new council for the Belfast district, the predecessor council shall be deemed to be the existing council for the local government district of Belfast established by the Local Government (Boundaries) Order (Northern Ireland) 1992(1).
(9) For the purposes of paragraph (6), “the local government district of the existing council” means a local government district established by the Local Government (Boundaries) Order (Northern Ireland) 1992.