The Local Government Act, 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5 c.38) was an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 that amended the Local Government Act 1888

Local Government Act 1888

The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...

, changing the process by which county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

s could be created or extended.

The Act responded to the problems caused by the fact that an increasing number of municipal borough

Municipal borough

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...

s were gaining county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 status as soon as they reached the requisite 50,000 population. This was leading to loss of territory by administrative counties

Administrative county

An administrative county was an administrative division in England and Wales and Ireland used for the purposes of local government. They are now abolished, although in Northern Ireland their former areas are used as the basis for lieutenancy....

. The consequent loss of population and rate base affected the finance of county council

County council

A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...

s.

On February 16, 1923, a Royal Commission had been appointed under the chairmanship of the Earl of Onslow

Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow

Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl Onslow GBE, PC , styled Viscount Cranley until 1911, was a British peer, diplomat, parliamentary secretary and government minister.-Background and education:...

 to "inquire into the existing law and procedure relating to the extensions of county Boroughs and the creation of new County Boroughs in England and Wales, and the effect such extensions or creations on the administration of the Councils of Counties and of non-County Boroughs, Urban Districts and Rural Districts; to investigate the relations between these several local authorities; and generally to make recommendations as to their constitution, areas and functions".

The commission published its first report in 1925, and among their recommendations were that:

• All proposals to constitute a county borough should be made by private bill, and not by provisional order under the 1888 Act.
• Extensions to county boroughs should be by provisional order where there were no objections, and by private bill where objections were made.
• The population requirement for the creation of a county borough should be raised to 75,000 from 50,000.
• In dealing with applications for extensions to existing county boroughs, the wishes of the inhabitants of the added areas should be taken into account, except where there were "weightier considerations of public advantage".

The 1926 Act implemented most of the commission's recommendations by making the following changes:

• The Minister of Health lost the power to constitute county boroughs by provisional order.
• The corporation of a borough could not promote a bill constituting the borough into a county borough unless the population according to the last census was 75,000 or above.
• County boroughs could not apply to the Minister for a provisional order extending the borough boundaries unless they had first sent a draft of their proposals to all the councils of the administrative counties
  County council
  A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
  
  , boroughs
  Municipal borough
  Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
  
  , rural
  Rural district
  Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
  
   and urban district
  Urban district
  In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
  
  s affected. The councils had four weeks to object.
• The Minister could refuse to extend the boundaries due to objections by the affected councils, or for any other reason.
• Where a provisional order to extend the municipal boundaries was refused by the Minister, the county borough corporation could promote a bill, having first informed all objectors of their intention.

The last county borough constituted under the 1888 Act was Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

, with a population of about 60,000, in 1927. Another county borough was not created until 1964.

The provisions of the Act were later incorporated in the Local Government Act 1933

Local Government Act 1933

The Local Government Act 1933 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated and revised existing legislation that regulated local government in England and Wales...

. The population limit for county boroughs was raised to 100,000 by the Local Government Act 1958

Local Government Act 1958

The Local Government Act 1958 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London...

.