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Lanarkshire County Council was elected under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict., c.50). It inherited almost all the functions of commissioners of supply, those of county road trusts (and their predecessor highway authorities), and those under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts. It also assumed some of the administrative powers of justices of the peace, but not their licensing or judicial functions. Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V, c.25) it inherited the functions of the former standing joint committees, commissioners of supply, parish councils (and their predecessors the parochial boards), district boards of control (and their predecessors the district lunacy boards), education authorities (and their predecessors the school boards) and other bodies. Some functions under the 1929 Act were transferred to the County Council only in the landward area, others only in the landward area and in small burghs. The 1929 Act also required county councils to draw up a scheme of district councils, to be composed partly of directly elected district councillors and partly of the county councillors from electoral divisions within the district. District councils had various responsibilities delegated to them by the county council under a scheme of delegation. These might include the letting of houses, the upkeep of cemeteries and until 1948 the poor law. They also administered special districts or committees responsible for certain functions such as scavenging or water supply, financed by additional rates. County councils and district councils were abolished in 1975 and their powers transferred to regional, islands and district councils (Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, c.65). The successor authorities to Lanarkshire County Council were Strathclyde Regional Council and the District Councils of Glasgow and Strathkelvin (for parts of their areas only), Motherwell, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Monklands and Lanark (later Clydesdale). The headquarters of the County Council in Hamilton became the offices of Lanark Sub-Region of the Regional Council.
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