In more detail
In this toolkit, when we refer to ‘the council’ we are referring to the principal local authority with responsibility for local planning which is:
- the city or metropolitan borough council, if you live in one of the old metropolitan county areas
- the borough council, if you live in London
- the unitary council, if you live in an area outside London or the metropolitan areas which is covered by one
- the district council, if you live in an area outside London or the metropolitan areas which does not have a unitary council.
The five, or six, main types are of council are:
City, Metropolitan Borough and London Borough councils
There are 68 of these: 32 London boroughs covering Greater London; and 36 city and metropolitan borough councils in the metropolitan county areas: Tyne & Wear; West Yorkshire; South Yorkshire; Greater Manchester; Merseyside; and West Midlands.
These councils are the only principal local authorities in their areas and have responsibility for local planning, licensing, housing, waste collection, education, social services, public health and council tax.
Outside London, they are also responsible for transport, police and fire services. In London, these are the responsibility of the Mayor of London alongside strategic planning and regional development.
Some authorities – like Liverpool, Salford, Doncaster and Hackney - have an elected mayor and in these cases, the mayor acts in effect as the executive head of the council (with the same powers over local planning and other services as the council has).
Councils are starting to form Combined Authorities covering, for example, Greater Manchester or the West Midlands. These authorities will be led by an elected mayor who will have powers depending on the details of the devolution deal agreed with Whitehall, but including strategic planning and regional development and resembling these of the Mayor of London.
Unitary councils
There are 55 of these covering a mixture of urban and country areas. Unitary councils covering cities and large towns include Bristol; Leicester; Nottingham; Portsmouth; Derby; Reading; Middlesbrough; Hull; Peterborough; Slough; Blackpool; Luton; Brighton & Hove; Bournemouth; Milton Keynes; Plymouth; Southampton; and Stoke-on-Trent.
These councils are the only principal local authorities in their areas and have responsibility for local planning and the same wide range of services covered by metropolitan boroughs and cities (see above) except that police and fire services are managed at county level.
Some authorities – like Bristol and Leicester – have an elected mayor and (as above) the mayor acts as the executive head of the council. (In other words, (s)he acts with the power of the council, not with additional powers.
Some of these authorities may become involved in Combined Authorities. For example, the West of England Combined Authority which includes Bristol and Bath and will cover an area roughly the same as the county of Avon which was created by local government re-organisation in 1974 and abolished in 1996. The responsibilities of Mayors of Combined Authorities would depend on agreements with Whitehall, but be likely to include strategic planning and regional development and be akin to those of the Mayor of London.
County councils
There are 27 of these covering mainly rural areas. These councils are part of a two-tier structure with district councils (below). Districts lead on local planning, but county councils have responsibility for strategic planning, waste management, education, social services, transport, police and fire services.
District councils
There are 201 of these covering the same area as the county councils above. Some cover cities and large towns including Preston, Gloucester, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Cheltenham, Cambridge, Watford, Hastings, Dartford, Maidstone, Dover, Burnley, Corby, Redditch, Warwick and Worcester. They are responsible for local planning and licensing and for housing, waste collection and council tax.
Parish councils
There are about 8000 of these covering about one third of the country, mainly in rural areas. These councils may also be known as town councils or community councils. Where they exist, they are the bodies which lead neighbourhood planning. Where there is no parish council (which is the case in most urban areas), the lead body for neighbourhood planning is called a neighbourhood forum. A nieghbourhood forum is not a local council, but a partnership of people and organisations with an interest in the area.
| Key Facts:
In the metropolitan areas and in towns and cities covered by unitary councils, there is one layer of local council which has responsibility for the full range of services including planning. In London, boroughs have resposibility for most things including local planning, but the elected Mayor of London is reposnible for transport, policing and strategic planning. Outside London, at present, elected mayors have no special powers beyond those of the local council, but devolution to Combined Authorities is likely to change this. In many, less urban areas, there are two-tiers of local council at county and district level. The district tier has responsibility for local planning and the county has responsibility for strategic planning. Parish councils - which can lead on neighbourhood planning- exist mainly in country areas. They can, however, be set up in urban neighbourhoods. Where there is no parish council, a neighbourhood forum can lead on neighbourhood planning. A neighbourhood forum is not a sort of council. |
Page Links from here
Local Government Association is the national body representing local councils in the UK.
The National Association of Local Councils represents parish and community councils in England and Wales.
You can find your local council here using your postcode and the same government site explains what services your local council provides.
Also, in the toolkit:
Dealing with Antisocial Behaviour
Delivering Local Public Services
OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.
BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.
| created: 2016-07-20 17:06:28 | by: admin | status: f published |