From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlocal authorityˌlocal auˈthority noun [countable] PGthe group of people responsible for the government of a particular area, town, or city in the UK SYN local government American English Central government is trying to stop local authorities overspending.GRAMMAR: Singular or plural verb?• Local authority is usually followed by a singular verb: The local authority plans to close the school.• In British English, you can also use a plural verb: The local authority plan to close the school.
Examples from the Corpus
local authority• Mr. Portillo A local authority will record those people who step forward as being entitled to single-person discounts.• Alison Petch has undertaken research in a range of social policy areas, in both local authority and university settings.• On the one hand this might lessen the load of dementia on local authority care.• The family proceedings court made care orders in favour of the local authority in respect of both children.• On the other hand, subsidies to local authority tenants are progressive in absolute as well as relative terms.Local AuthorityˌLocal Auˈthority // ( LA) a level of local government in the UK, part of which is responsible for education in its particular areaFrom Longman Business Dictionarylocal authorityˌlocal auˈthority [countable] a government organization in Britain that is responsible for providing public services such as schools, the collection of rubbish etc in a particular areaLocal authorities have been told that they must cut their spending. → authority 