London boroughs

London boroughs are 32 of the 33 districts of the Greater London region (the 33rd is the City of London) and are each governed by a London borough council. The London boroughs were all created at the same time as Greater London on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 and are a type of local government district. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs.

London boroughs have populations of around 150,000 to 300,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in both population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs were created by combining groups of former local government units. A review undertaken between 1987 and 1992 led to a number of relatively small alterations in borough boundaries.

The smaller populations of inner London boroughs are to a large extent due to the shift in population out of inner London since the 1960s.

London borough councils provide the majority of local government services, in contrast to the strategic Greater London Authority, which has limited authority over all of Greater London. The councils were first elected in 1964 and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965. Each borough is divided into electoral wards, subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place every four years, with the most recent elections in 2014 and the next elections due in 2018.

London Borough of Brent

The London Borough of Brent ( pronunciation ) is a London borough in north west London, and forms part of Outer London. The major areas are Kilburn, Wembley and Harlesden.

It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the north-west, Barnet to the north-east, Camden to the east and Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Kensington and Chelsea to the south, and Westminster to the south-east. Most of the eastern border is formed by the Roman road Watling Street, which is now the modern A5. Brent has a mixture of residential, industrial and commercial land. Brent is home to Wembley Stadium, one of the country's biggest landmarks, as well as Wembley Arena. The local authority is Brent London Borough Council.

The borough has seen illegal dumping on the borough’s streets between 2013/14 and 2014/15 surge by 84 per cent, the most recorded by a local authority in England. According to the findings of a survey by property group Rightmove, Brent is the third most unhappy borough in London, based on a number of factors including décor, space, value, pride, costs, safety, amenities, recreation, community, contentment, neighbourliness and area contentment. Brent has the highest proportion of housing benefit claims by private tenants in the country as a percentage of all households according to the Financial Times.

London

London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km²) medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms Greater London, a region of England governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The conurbation also covers two English counties: the small district of the City of London and the county of Greater London. The latter constitutes the vast majority of London, though historically it was split between Middlesex (a now abolished county), Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.

Brent

Brent is an Old English place name and surname. The place name can be from Celtic words meaning "holy one" (if it refers to the River Brent), or "high place", literally, "from a steep hill" (if it refers to the villages in Somerset and Devon, England) (Mills 1991). The surname often indicates that one's ancestors lived in a place called Brent.

Brent has also become a regularly used given name in some countries, being among the thousand most common names for boys born in the United States since 1933. When used as a given name today, Brent is sometimes a short form of Brenton, but this was probably not the original inspiration for Brent's use as a given name, since Brenton's own regular use as a first name came many years after Brent was established in that role.

References

Brent London Borough Council

Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The borough has seen illegal dumping on the borough’s streets between 2013/14 and 2014/15 surge by 84 per cent, the most recorded by a local authority in England. According to the findings of a survey by property group Rightmove, Brent is the third most unhappiest borough in London, based on a number of factors including décor, space, value, pride, costs, safety, amenities, recreation, community, contentment, neighbourliness and area contentment. Brent has the highest proportion of housing benefit claims by private tenants in the country as a percentage of all households according to the Financial Times.

History

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Brent as a London local authority would share power with 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 local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council it has been an education authority since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Brent London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. 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.