Councils…in the news

• £1.2billion being cut from council budgets in “fiscal consolidation”

• Plans for ‘open book’ government – transparency

• The “Big Society”

• Crises in social services

• School schemes derailed

• Education – the Swedish model

Local government – big business

• Councils provide more than 700 different functions & services

• Employ 2.5million people in 400 different occupations• Big spenders - £165billion in 2009/10 – a quarter of all

public revenue expenditure• If ranked by expenditure, 100 councils would rank along

side 500 top companies (Kent county council annual budget - £2.4bn)

• Spending on councils same as entire GDPof Ukraine• 22,000 elected councillors – but only 650 MPs

Why is it important?

• Democratically-elected institutions – our political representatives at local level

• Spend large sums of public money

• Councillors decide and therefore have direct impact on key frontline services

• Media has key role holding councils to account, scrutinising and challenging – checks and balances

Types of council

• County councils• District/borough councils• Unitary councils• Metropolitan councils• London boroughs

All these are known as “principal local authorities”

What do they do?

County councils: (34 in England)• Children’s services: schools; youth service; adult

education; under-fives (pre-school)• Social services: children’s services + adult

services• Adult services: care for the elderly, disabled,

asylum seekers, employment support• Waste disposal• Counties operate with districts in what are called

“two tier” areas

Counties - what do they do ii?

• Highways and transport, inc. streetlighting, traffic management, public transport

• Strategic planning policy; safeguarding environment

• Trading standards (consumer protection)

• ‘Cultural services’ - libraries, galleries, museums, the arts

Districts/Boroughs • Local planning control (applications)• Waste collection; street cleaning• Housing (inc. homeless; some social housing; benefits)• On-street parking• Environmental health – food safety, pollution, pest control• Leisure facilities and culture: sports centres; parks; playing fields• Registering births,deaths and marriages• Collecting council tax (and sending out bills)• Electoral registration

• Some may do work for counties under voluntary agreements – eg road maintenance and repairs

Criticisms of two-tier* system

• Perceived remoteness of county councils – particularly those covering large areas

• Not easily understood by the public, who are confused about who does what

• Serve diverse communities with disparate needs (eg coastal towns and urban conurbations)

• Poor economies of scale – costly having two tiers of local government

• * Areas with county councils (top tier) and district/borough councils (second tier)

Unitary councils

• Bring together all services (county + district)

• Created to simplify structures

• First set up in 1990s

• Elections every four years

• “Hybrid” structure in some areas: some unitaries exist within existing two-tier county boundaries (eg Kent)

Most recent unitaries…

• Seven created in 2009:• Cheshire*, Bedfordshire*, Cornwall,

Northumberland, Durham, Shropshire and Wiltshire

• Replaced 44 districts and counties, saving £100million

• Affected 3.2million residents

[New govt. has scrapped plans for new unitary in Norwich]

Unitaries…the pluses

• Generally better understood by residents – one council for all services

• Less complex in terms of decision-making• Provide better sense of “community identity” –

better defined geographical area; less remote• More financially efficient (?)• But• Arguably confusing where they sit side-by-side

with two-tier set up

Metropolitan councils

• 36 – covering main English cities (Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield)

• Effectively operate as unitary authorities

• Elect third of councillors every year

• Have ‘joint boards’ to oversee some services, eg transport, emergency services, waste

London boroughs

• 33 – effectively act as unitary authorities

• GLA/Boris Johnson provides London-wide government, including:

• Policing

• Transport

• Strategic planning

• Fire

City councils

• Historically, linked to cathedral cities+ecclesiastical seats of power

• But city status no longer dependant on that• Home Secretary advises monarch on towns that

should become cities• Millennium City Competition led to 3 new

cities – Brighton, Wolverhampton and Inverness• City councils have no extra powers – can be

districts/boroughs• New competition for city status to mark Queen’s

Diamond Jubilee in 2012 (Medway)

Political clout - who controls town halls?

• Conservatives: 222 councils and 9,945 councillors

• Labour: 41 councils and 4,385 councillors

• Lib Dems: 27 councils and 4,280 councillors

• Others: 10 councils and 2,304 councillors

[Not taking into account May 2010 results]

Parish and town councils

• Limited range of functions and powers

• For example:

• Bus shelters; footpaths; extra street lighting; public toilets;cemeteries; community halls

• By law, have right to comment on planning applications in area

• Can levy a precept to pay for services

Councillors

• Are the politically-elected representatives on councils

• Decide on policy and take decisions on services and spending

• Represent local wards or “divisions” – similar to MPs’ constituencies

• Provide community leadership for area• Represent, be accountable for and act as

advocate for their electors

Councillors

• 13 per cent have children under age of 16• 50 per cent have a degree or higher qualification• More women councillors than MPs• More women councillors than senior officers• Most spend an average 20 hours work a week

on council business• Represent average of 3,020 constituents

(France 118; Holland 1,713)

The role of councillors

• Executive councillors: Legal ability to make certain decisions, collectively or individually

• Non-executive councillors: No decision-making powers but hold executive (cabinet to account) – a watchdog role

All councillors are:• Residents’ advocates• Community advocates• Policy advocates

But they are important…

• Our democratically-elected representatives• Often wield more power than MPs• Take decisions on important services, the local

economy and our money• Offer community and strategic leadership• Take up residents’ concerns • Have a watchdog role• Paid out of the public purse (allowances)

The role of councillors

• Executive councillors: Legal ability to make certain decisions, collectively or individually

• Non-executive councillors: No decision-making powers but hold executive (cabinet to account) – a watchdog role

All councillors are:• Residents’ advocates• Community advocates• Policy advocates

Council officers

• Paid, professional employees – unlike councillors, are not elected and are politically neutral

• Deliver services in line with politicians’ priorities and budget

• Responsible to the council rather than electorate• Can receive large salaries• Cabinet govt. means senior officers much closer

to ruling political administration

Key senior officers

• The Chief Executive – head of paid service – most senior official

• The Chief Financial Officer (finance director)

• The Monitoring Officer• Director of Children’s Services

• Most councils have a corporate board made up of senior officers

The Chief Executive

• Paid officer who heads the executive of the council, leads chief officers management team and advises councillors

• Ensures council policy is implemented and will advise councillors of legality and feasibility of their policies/plans

• May be the returning officer at election time• Is a politically-restricted post• Can often be highly paid – six-figure salaries!

Mayors

• Ceremonial figure-head for a council• No real powers• Chairs meetings of the full council• Represents council at civic functions• Usually wears chains of office• London and some cities have Lord Mayors (but

do same job)• Elected by fellow councillors each year• Known as “chairmen” in county councils

Student assignment

• What type of councils are there in your area?• Which party(s) controls them?• How many residents do they serve?• Who is the council leader (politician)?• Who is the chief executive (officer)?• What other parties are represented on the

council?• When is the council(s) next election?