The Local Government Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz.2 c.55) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local Government Commissions to review the areas and functions of local authorities, and introduced new procedures for carrying these into action. White papers The Act originated in three government white papers. The first of these, Local government – areas and status of local authorities in England and Wales, was published on 31 July 1956 (Cmnd. 9831). Rather than completely reforming the local government system, it proposed a partial overhaul of the existing system. Two local government commissions, one for England and one for Wales, were to be established to carry out reviews under these guidelines. The commissions were to have powers to: Constitute or extend county boroughs, removing the power of boroughs to promote local bills for this purpose. The population requirement for becoming a county borough would be raised. The English commission was not permitted to create county boroughs in Middlesex, as this would lead to the disintegration of the administrative county, which the government wished to retain as part of the administration of the Greater London area. Establish new, larger authorities in the large conurbations. Reduce the number of small county districts by amalgamation. Alter county boundaries. In exceptional cases, amalgamate counties. The County of London was to be excluded from the reviews. The Association of Municipal Authorities, which represented 432 boroughs in England and Wales gave its considered response to the paper in December. They pointed out that there were "unhappy relationships" between many county councils and boroughs in their area, with the inconsistent delegation of powers by the counties to the boroughs. The Association wished for these powers to be conferred by legislation instead of delegated. They also wanted any future reviews of county districts to be conducted by the commissions and not by county councils. They also stated their view that the population requirement for new county boroughs should be based on projected rather than present population. They also suggested that where rural parishes were included in an extended borough, the parish council should continue to exist, and that it should be possible to create parish councils within existing urban areas. The Association also recommended that additional powers be devolved from the county to the boroughs in Middlesex.