Key Facts

• There are 468 local councils in the UK
• There are 11,000 town, parish and community councils
• Local councils spend over £70 billion a year
• Local government employs over 2 million people – one of the largest employers in the UK
• There are 21,000 democratically elected local councillors (members) in England and Wales

What your local council does

Local government is a huge provider of public services – education, environmental health, housing, social services and many more all of which benefit the local community. Councils either provide services directly to the public or arrange for others to do so.

There are 7 main services areas within local government: corporate (which includes administration, finance, human resources, IT etc.), education, emergency, environmental, leisure, property and social.

How your local council affects your life

Most of these services affect the daily lives of local people in a major way. The leisure centre you keep fit in, the collection of your household rubbish, the school you or your children go to, the care of those who are disadvantaged, the hygiene standards in your local restaurants and shops, the range of reference materials in your local library – all of these things are the council’s responsibility, plus many more besides.

How a council works

Local councils are made up of councillors (members) who are voted for by the public in local elections and permanent council staff (officers).

Councillors decide on the overall direction of policy and are accountable to the public at election times. Council officers then implement these policy initiatives and are responsible for delivering services on a daily basis.

The elected part of the council is split into various groupings:

• Full Council – The full council is made up of all elected councillors, usually belonging to a range of different political parties. The full council is the central decision-maker and debates and decides upon policy based on reports from the committees, similar to the role played by the Houses of Parliament at national level. The full council is divided into smaller groups called committees and an executive.
• Committees - Scrutiny committees are a fairly new but important addition to the council decision-making process. The councillors on these committees monitor and review the council’s performance and decision-making process in order to ensure it is accountable to the public. Information is provided to the committees by council officers.
• The Executive - The executive is like the government of the council and is formed by the political party that has most elected representatives in full council. It is the only group which is allowed to make decisions on certain areas of policy without the approval of the full council.

The Life of a Councillor

Although local councillors spend a lot of time carrying out their civic duties, most are unpaid. Often their motivation for becoming a councillor stems from concerns about their local community and a wish to improve the environment and help the people they represent. However, many also have political ambitions that lead them eventually in the direction of national politics.

Different types of local council

There are 8 different types of council in the UK.

• London Borough Councils
• The Corporation of London
• Metropolitan Councils
• English, Scottish and Welsh Unitary Councils
• County Councils
• District Councils
• Borough Councils
• District Councils in Northern Ireland

In primarily urban areas, London borough, metropolitan and unitary councils provide all local services.

In rural areas responsibility for local service provision is split between county councils and district councils.

There are 34 county councils, 32 London boroughs, 36 metropolitan councils, 238 district councils, 47 English unitary councils and the Corporation of London.

There are 32 Scottish unitary councils, 22 Welsh unitary councils and 26 Northern Irish district councils.

This makes a grand total of 468.

Who pays for local government?

Local government in England and Wales is funded by grants from central government (about 48%), business rates (charged to local companies – about 25%) and council tax (charged to local people – also about 25%). The rest comes from sources such as car parks, parking permits and the hire of sports facilities.

Staff in local government often find themselves delivering services on a very tight budget, which requires good financial management skills. The way council money is spent must be closely accounted for as it is constantly held up to public scrutiny.

Are local government, central government and the civil service all the same thing?

Local government is NOT the civil service or central government. Local government is the collective term for local councils. You may also sometimes hear them referred to as local authorities. (Note that the civil service and central government are the same.)

More Information

You can find out more information on local government in the UK and related issues from:

Local Government Association

Local Government Information Unit

Welsh Local Government Association

The Boundary Committee for England

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

The National Assembly for Wales

The Scottish Executive

The Scottish Parliament

The Northern Ireland Assembly

info4local infosite

Local Government Careers Website