Local government in the UK is responsible for a number of vital services for people and businesses in certain areas. Among them are well-known functions such as social security, schools, housing and construction planning, waste collection. As well as lesser-known features in the form of licensing, business support, registrar services and pest control.
The relevance of local structures
In England, about a million people work in local government in various government structures, providing more than 800 different services to local communities. All of them are fully regulated and subject to official registration.
Local government in the UK, the most common type of local government, consists of advisers who are elected by the people in elections. The appointed citizens work with the residents of the settlement and partners, such as enterprises and other organizations, to coordinate and implement projects in a certain territory in accordance with legislative regulations. Decisions are carried out by permanent staff of the council, officials who provide services daily.
Types of settlements
Depending on where citizens live, local government consists of at least one or two levels of government. This allows the separation of powers and competencies. Local government in the UK uses a tiered system to regulate key industries. Using this method, all projects are implemented more efficiently.
Two levels of distribution of responsibilities between local services:
- 27 county councils.
- 201 district, city or city council.
One (unitary) level of provision of all services:
- 56 unitary councils.
- 33 London districts.
- 36 metropolitan areas.
Across England, there are also about 9 thousand parish and city councils, 10 national parks responsible for the conservation and promotion of the picturesque territories, as well as local authorities responsible for the protection, supervision and rescue services.
Since the adoption of new legislation and reform in 2009, another type of regional government has emerged - the united government, in which two or more councils cooperate and make collective decisions.
County Funding
Local government in the UK receives funding from a variety of sources, including government subsidies, city tax, and fees and charges. Together, municipal and corporate tax is the largest source of budget revenue.
Local government in England works either on a single-level system - unitary authorities. Or according to a two-level system — county and district councils.
There are five types of local authority in England:
- District councils.
- District councils.
- Unitary authorities.
- Metropolitan counties and London areas.
Advice
County councils cover the entire county and provide most public services in their specific area. Spatial planning of these structures allows you to coordinate actions and distribute hierarchy of authority between all departments. Additionally, this form of government creates “bridges” between various government agencies and departments.
District councils are responsible for:
- Education.
- Highway.
- Transport planning.
- Passenger Transportation.
- Social Security.
- Libraries
- Waste disposal.
- Strategic planning.
District councils
Each district is divided into several districts. District councils, which may also be called city councils, if the district has the status of a city, occupy a much smaller area and provide more local services. Territorial planning is distributed in the same way as in county councils. Additionally, the structure may enter into contracts and arrangements with various commercial organizations.
District councils are responsible for:
- Housing.
- Leisure and relaxation.
- Environmental hygiene.
- Waste collection.
- Planning and collecting local taxes.
Unitary authorities
Many large cities and small counties in the UK are unitary governments. That is, they have only one level of local government. Unitary authorities can be city or district councils.
These bodies are responsible for:
- Education.
- Car roads.
- Transport planning.
- Passenger Transportation.
- Social Security.
- Housing.
- Libraries
- Leisure and relaxation.
- Environmental hygiene.
- Waste collection.
- Waste disposal.
- Budget planning.
- Collection of local taxes.
Metropolitan counties
Capital districts are unitary authorities. The reform of local government allowed to divide the territory into several divisions. They can be called metropolitan district councils or metropolitan city councils. The composition of citizens elected in this district. Powers last up to 3 years. Depending on the individual rating of advisers, they can be re-elected up to 5 times.
Capital districts are responsible for:
- Education.
- Car roads.
- Transport planning.
- Passenger Transportation.
- Social Security.
- Housing.
- Libraries
- Leisure and relaxation.
- Environmental hygiene.
- waste collection.
- Waste disposal.
- Budget planning.
- Strategic planning and local tax collection.
London settlements
Each London region of Great Britain and Wales is a unitary authority. Nevertheless, the Greater London Office (GLA) provides government and shares responsibility for certain services.
London settlements are responsible for:
- Education.
- Motorways.
- Transport planning.
- Social Security.
- Housing.
- Libraries
- Leisure and relaxation.
- Environmental hygiene.
- Waste collection.
- Waste disposal.
- Budget planning.
- Strategic planning.
- Collection of local taxes.
GLA is responsible for:
- Motorways.
- Transportation planning.
- Passenger Transportation.
- Strategic planning.
City and parish councils
In some parts, there is a third level of local government in the UK. City and parish councils are responsible for smaller local services such as parks, community centers, land, and war memorials.
In Wales and Scotland, there is a single-level local government system that provides all local government services. In Northern Ireland, local city and county councils are elected to provide services such as waste disposal, street cleaning, and recreation. However, most services are operated by other organizations.
Change in management
Local government in England has been the subject of an ongoing process of restructuring for several centuries and continues to be so.
Despite the fact that various forms of local self-government existed in Saxon and medieval times, the existing types of divisions began to develop in the 19th century. The government is changing the structure today. The Local Government Act of 1888 provided for the creation of 66 county councils and one London county council. These district structures were to be managed by elected advisers, which included the chairman, aldermen (elders), and assistants.
The act passed from the quarterly sessions (local courts) to the county councils the administrative and financial affairs of their districts. In addition, responsibility was transferred for the maintenance of roads, bridges and county buildings, the assessment and collection of rental fees, the appointment, dismissal and establishment of salaries of county officials and the organization of parliamentary elections. The law also allows the creation of county districts. Large settlements with a population of over 50 thousand people can become administrative districts.
Adopted laws
The Local Government Act of 1894 provided for the creation of elected parish councils in rural areas and the creation of city district councils and councils of rural districts with elected councilors. Most of the legislative acts of 1888 and 1894 were subsequently enshrined in accordance with the Local Government Act of 1933.
In London, major structural changes took place in local government in the 1960s. The District of London and the County Council of London were abolished, and a new area of Greater London was created from the county of London and some other counties. The Greater London Council (GLC) has become the local government in this area, along with 32 newly established London districts.
By the second half of the 20th century, the local government in England had become an extremely complex system, desperate for simplification and reform. As a result, a radical review was carried out with plans for a simple nationwide two-tier system set forth in the Local Government Act 1972.
In accordance with these changes, which entered into force in April 1974, all existing areas of local government, with the exception of the overseas possessions of Great Britain and the Isles of Scilly, were abolished. This included all administrative districts, county districts, rural districts, urban districts and municipal districts. In their place, new metropolitan and regional districts were created, which, in turn, were divided into districts. Each district was governed by a council of representatives elected by the tenants.
In 1986, changes were again made to the London local government. The Greater London Council was abolished along with six metropolitan districts, effectively leaving London districts as single-level administrations. Then, in 2000, the Greater London Administration was created, which ensured the direct election of a strategic administration for all of Greater London. GLA shares responsibility for some local government services with 32 London districts and City of London.
In the rest of the country, despite the hopes that the radical reforms of 1974 finally created a simple, unified system of local self-government, less than 20 years later these reforms were questioned, and further changes were required again. A review by the England Local Government Commission, established in 1992, recommended that some counties retain their two-tier structure, while others should maintain single-level unitary bodies (UAs). Subsequently, several UAs were created in 25 districts between 1995 and 1998.
In 2009, as a result of further reorganization of local authorities, 10 new unitary authorities were created. However, after the election of a coalition government in May 2010, parliament in 2011 canceled plans to create two new UAs in Exeter and Suffolk.
Controversial issues
The plans of the previous Labor government to transfer more power to the regions through the creation of eight regional assemblies in England caused a lot of controversy. A referendum held in November 2004 on the proposed assembly for the Northeast caused a lot of controversy. As a result, its results were canceled.
Characteristic features of local government in the UK are expressed by the division into industries in the system of managing settlements and cities. The coalition government, elected in May 2010, passed a law that repealed orders to create unitary councils for the cities of Exeter and Norwich. This step was sharply criticized by the Labor opposition. The Act also impedes the implementation of further unitary proposals. The Law on Localism, adopted in November 2011, contains a number of measures aimed at strengthening the role of local self-government.