Local government structure Flashcards
(13 cards)
What do councils do?
provide a wide range of services and perform a regulatory role in their communities.
personal services – such as education, housing and social care, others are protective and involve liaison with other bodies such as police, fire, licensing and planning.
-also provide recreation and leisure facilities – some of which may also be commercial and make money for the authority.
➢ Some services are statutory (or prescribed) such as education, social care, waste and housing – which council provides these depends on the system of local government in an area.
What structure of local government covers the majority of England?
two tiers – county and district – with responsibility for services split between them.
What do London and other metropolitan areas operate by?
London, other metropolitan areas and parts of shire (county) England operate a single tier system, with each council responsible for all services.
What are the different types of councils?
County councils
District councils
Unitary authorities Metropolitan districts
London boroughs
How does a two tier council structure operate?
functions are divided by two different councils, each separately elected.
There are 21 county councils and 164 district councils.
The county council provides important strategic services such as social services, transport, education, highways, planning, fire and public safety, trading standards and waste management.
The district/borough councils are responsible for local services such as rubbish collection, recycling, housing and planning applications.
These councils collect council tax and non-domestic rates on behalf of all local authorities.
There may be some overlap in services with county councils – e.g. recreation and leisure.
How does a unitary authority operate?
a single “all-purpose” council which provides all local government services in their area.
There are currently 62 unitary authorities.
➢ They are mainly in cities, urban areas and larger
towns.
➢ A number of shire county councils have become
unitary in recent years, including Dorset.
➢ “Hybrid” structure – in some English counties, some unitary authorities have been set up to serve large towns/cities in areas where the rest of the county falls under the two-tier system. In these cases, unitary and two-tier systems exist side-by-side. One example is Brighton & Hove - a city council – which provides all local services for its area, rather than East Sussex County Council.
What is a hybrid structure of council?
“Hybrid” structure – in some English counties, some unitary authorities have been set up to serve large towns/cities in areas where the rest of the county falls under the two-tier system. In these cases, unitary and two-tier systems exist side-by-side. One example is Brighton & Hove - a city council – which provides all local services for its area, rather than East Sussex County Council.
What are two examples of unitary authority systems?
Metropolitan districts/boroughs – there are 36 in total covering six large urban areas.
London – the capital is divided into 32 boroughs. These provide nearly all services in their area, from waste to education.
What is a combined authority ?
a legal body which allows two or more councils to join up, collaborate and take collective decisions across their boundaries.
These combined authorities receive additional powers and funding from central government.
➢ They are particularly important for areas such as transport and economic policy.
➢ They do not replace existing local authorities.
➢ There are currently 11 combined authorities –
✓ Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
✓ Greater Manchester
✓ Liverpool City Region
✓ North East
The metro mayor chairs combined authorities.
What are city councils?
City status is conferred by Royal Charter.
The status was once given to places with cathedrals or to mark significant royal events – in recent years cities have been created to celebrate Jubilee.
A number of different types of council may have the word city in their name.
Some do not have a specific council but have charter trustees to protect their city status
What is a parish council?
are the smallest/lowest tier of local government. There are around 10,000 in England. They are made up of elected councillors.
hold an annual meeting and at least three other meetings in a year. There must also be a parish meeting open to all electors to discuss matters of local interest.
limited powers and deal withissues such as allotments, public clocks, bus shelters, community centres
powers to issue fixed penalties notices for things like littering and graffiti.
What council systems does Wales operate with?
Wales has 22 local (unitary) authorities – they are all unitary – a single-tier local government system.
There are also around 730 community councils.
These are responsible for services such as management of town and village centres, litter,
