local government – big business councils provide more than 700 different functions & services...
Post on 18-Dec-2015
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Local government – big business
• Councils provide more than 700 different functions & services
• Employ 2.5million people in 400 different occupations
• Big spenders - £136billion in 2005/06 = to quarter of all public revenue
• If ranked by expenditure, 100 councils would rank along side 500 top companies
• 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
• Have direct impact on key frontline services
• Media has key role holding councils to account, scrutinising and challenging
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)• Education: schools; youth service; adult ed; under-fives• Social services: children’s services + adult services• Waste disposal• Highways and transport• Strategic land use planning• Trading standards (consumer protection)• Libraries, galleries, museums, the arts
• Counties operate with districts in what are called “two tier” areas
Districts/Boroughs
• Local planning (applications)• Waste collection• Housing (inc. homeless; some social housing)• On-street parking• Environmental health• Leisure facilities: 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
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 county boundaries (eg Kent)
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
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 – old, white, male and irrelevant?
• Male – 73 per cent
• White – 97 per cent
• Average age – 57
• Retired – 35 per cent
• Private sector employed – 60 per cent
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)
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
Allowances
• All councillors receive allowances:
• Basic allowance (average £5,187 in 2004 but varies according to type of council)
• Special Responsibility Allowances (leaders, executive/cabinet members and others with additional responsibilities) – Kent CC leader gets £41,000; cabinet members £23,000
• Childcare/dependent carers’ allowance • Travel/subsistence allowance (if not covered by basic
allowance)• Allowances are set by independent remuneration panel
Council officers
• Paid, professional employees – not elected and 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
• The Monitoring Officer
• Director of Children’s Services
• Most councils have a corporate board made up of senior officers
The Chief Executive
• 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