
1 
This order may be cited as the Local
Government (Staff Transfer Schemes) Order 1973
and shall come into operation on 5th December 1973.
2 

(1) The 
Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the
interpretation of this order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act
of Parliament.
(2) In this order—
 “the Act”
means the Local Government
Act 1972;
 “the Memorandum”
means the memorandum entitled “Local Government
Reorganisation in England and Wales; Transfer and protection of staff Memorandum”
issued with Circular 101/73 (Department of the Environment) 185/73 (Welsh
Office) dated 28th August 1973;
 “officer”, in relation to any council, includes the holder of any office or
employment under that council; and
 “Wales”
means the area consisting of the counties established
by section 20
of the Act (new local government areas in Wales), and “England”
does not include any area included in any of those counties.
3 

(1) Schemes for the transfer of officers
to new authorities established under the Act or the 
Water Act 1973 shall be made by the councils
of administrative counties, county boroughs and county districts in accordance
with the provisions of this article and article
4.
(2) A scheme for the transfer of all or any
class of their officers shall be made by any such council if they consider
that the transfer of such officers in accordance with the principles set out
in paragraph 25
of the Memorandum (which is set out in the Schedule to this order) would result
in a substantially unbalanced allocation of such officers between authorities
in relation to functions for which they are respectively responsible, or where
any such authority notify the council that they so consider.
(3) A scheme for the transfer of all their
officers shall be made by any such council whose area is comprised in the
areas of two or more relevant authorities unless the relevant authorities
other than one notify the council that no officers need be transferred to
them.
(4) A scheme for the transfer of officers
employed for the purposes of any function shall be made by any such council
as is described in paragraph (1)
where the function is on and after 1st April 1974 exercisable (otherwise than
by virtue of section 187(2)
or (3) of the Act) by two
or more authorities and the council consider that there will be difficulty
in determining the authorities to which officers would be transferred on the
application of the principles described in paragraph
(2) above, or where any such authority notify
the council that they so consider.
(5) A scheme for the transfer of all or any
of their officers may be made by any such council in any other circumstances
in which they consider it appropriate to make a scheme.
(6) Where, with effect from 1st April 1974,
functions are conferred upon the council of a district in Wales by order under 
section 198(3), 200(1), 
(2) or (3), 
201(3) or 207(2)
or (3) of the Act, any scheme
made under paragraphs (2) to (5)
 above, so far as it provides for the transfer
of officers on the basis that such functions will be discharged within the
relevant district by a new county council, shall cease to have effect, and
subject to the provisions of any such order the council who made the scheme
shall make a further scheme for the transfer of such officers.
(7) Where any arrangements made under 
section 101 or 110,
or any direction given under section 110,
of the Act, are to have effect as from 1st April 1974 but have not been taken
into account under article 4(2),
any scheme made under paragraphs
(2) to (5) above, so far as it provides for
the transfer of officers on the basis that the functions to which the arrangements
or direction relate will be discharged within the relevant area by the authority
whose functions they are, shall cease to have effect, and the council who
made the scheme shall make a further scheme for the transfer of such officers.

(8) The references in 
paragraphs (2), (3)
and (5) above to all the
officers of a council do not include—
(a) any person who will by virtue of any
agreement entered into between him and any authority (other than an authority
abolished by the Act) before 1st April 1974 enter into the employment of that
authority before or on that date;
(b) any person as regards any employment
which, otherwise than by virtue of the abolition of authorities effected by
the Act, is to be terminated before or on 31st March 1974;
(c) any person for whose transfer provision
has been made (whether before or after this order) under 
section 254 of the Act; or
(d) any person for whose transfer provision
is made in section 18
of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973
.
(9) In paragraph
(3) above, “the
relevant authorities” means, in
relation to any authority described in column (1) of the following table,
the authorities specified in respect thereof in column (2) together with any
authority included in the expression by virtue of 
article 4(2).

(1) (2)
The council of any administrative county The councils of the counties in which the area of
the administrative county is comprised
The council of any county borough or county district The councils of the districts in which the area
of the county borough or county district is comprised
4 

(1) Any scheme made under 
article 3 shall allocate the officers covered
by it on the basis of the likely needs of the services to be provided on and
after 1st April 1974.
(2) In any scheme made under paragraph (2) to (4) of article 3
any arrangements made under section 101
or 110, or any direction
given under section 110,
of the Act shall be taken into account, and the references to authorities
in paragraphs (2) and 
(4) shall extend to, and “the relevant
authorities” in paragraph (3)
shall include, the authority who will be discharging any relevant functions
by virtue of such arrangements or who are included in a direction under 
section 110 as the authority to discharge any
relevant functions.
(3) In preparing any scheme a council shall—

(a) consult the authorities and bodies representative
of officers appearing to them to be concerned; and
(b) give all the officers likely to be transferred
an opportunity to indicate any preference as to the authority to whom they
would wish to be transferred and take into consideration the preferences so
indicated.
(4) Upon making a scheme a council shall
transmit copies thereof to the authorities and bodies representative of staff
appearing to them to be concerned and notify every officer to be transferred
of the provision of the scheme in relation to him.
5 

(1) If notice is given by any authority that
they are dissatisfied with the provisions of any scheme made under 
article 3 the question shall be determined
by agreement between the authorities concerned or in default of such agreement
by the Secretary of State or an arbitrator appointed by him.
(2) Upon any determination which will result
in the transfer of an officer otherwise than in accordance with the scheme
the authority by whom the scheme was made shall notify such officer of the
effect of the determination in relation to him.
6 
Any transfer effected or proposed by any scheme shall be subject
to any provisions—
 for the protection of the interests of officers;
 as to appeals by officers; and
 as to the secondary transfers of officers,
which may be contained in any further order made under 
sections 254 and 255
of the Act.
Geoffrey Rippon
Secretary of State for the Environment
2nd November 1973Peter Thomas
Secretary of State for Wales
5th November 1973
SCHEDULE
Article 3(2)
25 
The general principles under which staff will
be transferred are as follows:—
(a) any officer employed upon a function
which, within the area of his existing authority, will on and after the appointed
day be the statutory responsibility only of a county council (e.g. education
or social services in a non-metropolitan county) 
and who is
(i) employed wholly or mainly
in premises which are to be used after that date for the purposes of the discharge
of its functions by a county council (e.g. a school or area social services
office in the examples referred to) or
(ii) operating wholly or mainly from such
premises (e.g. a highways depot) or
(iii) being otherwise employed wholly, or
substantially so upon
that functionwill be transferred to the employment of the new county council
whose area will include that of his existing authority.
(b) similarly, any officer employed upon
a function which, within the area of his existing authority will on and after
the appointed day be the statutory responsibility only of a district council
(e.g. housing) will, according to similar criteria, be transferred to the
employment of the new district council whose area will include that of his
existing authority.Where such an officer is employed by an existing county council
the district council to which he will transfer should be determined, where
possible, according to the area of the county with which his work is concerned.
If this is impracticable because his work is not related specifically
to the area of any of the new districts, he will be transferred to such new
district council as may be determined by the existing county council in consultation
with the new district councils. In such circumstances the views of the officer
concerned will be particularly relevant and should be sought at the earliest
opportunity.
(c) Headquarters or other staff of existing
authorities who do not fall within the categories of staff referred to at
(a) or (b)
above will be transferred as follows:
 County council staff—to the new county council for that area
 All other authorities—to the new district council within whose
area the existing authority's area will be included.