Local Government structure Flashcards
The 1972 Local Government Act (enacted in 1974) - what did it create?
The 1972 Local Government Act created two-tier local authorities and this structure still exists in some parts of England today.
What is a two tier local authority?
Many parts of England have 2 tiers of local government: county councils; district, borough or city councils with responsibility for council services split between the two tiers
In some parts of the country, there’s just 1 (unitary) tier of local government which provides all the local services listed above.
County (or Shire) councils are responsible for:
Education
Social services e.g. child protection and care for the elderly
Transport
Libraries and museums
Waste disposal
Strategic, county-wide planning (mainly waste disposal and mineral extraction)
Within these county councils there are a number of district or borough councils responsible for:
District or borough councils are responsible for:
Housing
Refuse collection
Planning (housing estates, house extensions, new supermarkets etc)
Collection of council tax and uniform business rates (UBR)
Environmental health (inspection of food premises etc)
Residents in these areas elect different councillors for each of these councils. They have their own budgets and run their own affairs.
What did unitary authorities replace?
A similar system of ‘metropolitan’ county councils and smaller district councils was set up in the main urban conurbations of England, including South Yorkshire. These were abolished in 1986 and replaced with unitary authorities.
What is a unitary authority?
A single tier responsible for all local functions within its area. Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster are all unitary authorities.
There is no such thing as South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council anymore.
What happened during the 1990s?
During the 1990s other smaller cities were encouraged to adopt unitary status and many did e.g. York, Bristol, Derby and Nottingham. Where unitary authorities exist alongside two tier authorities (e.g. York is a unitary authority working alongside North Yorkshire county council, which is a two-tier authority) this is known as hybrid structure.
Parish councils
Layer of governance below the district and unitary councils.
Sometimes called a town council
They are nothing to do with ecclesiastical parishes
They raise money by the parish precept on council taxes
They are responsible for playground equipment, public toilets, park benches, streetlights, footpaths etc
They have a right to be consulted over major planning applications
3 parish councils in Sheffield - Bradfield, Stocksbridge and Ecclesfield
London
London has a different local government structure to the rest of the country:
It has a directly elected mayor - Sadiq Khan
25 directly elected members of the London Assembly
Together the Mayor and the London Assembly form the Greater London Authority responsible for policing, transport, fire and rescue services and the congestion charge.
Below this structure sit 32 borough councils (plus the City of London Corporation) which act as unitary authorities providing services such as education, refuse collection, social services, housing and planning.
Councillors and officers
Officers are the paid civil service of the local authority and should be politically neutral.
Councillors (sometimes called members) are political figures required to stand for election every four years
Councillors decide on policy and officers implement that policy
The Leader of the Council is an elected councillor who is the head of the governing party
The Chief Executive is the senior officer who leads the entire ‘paid service’
Each department also has a lead councillor and a senior officer as its head
Councillors are unpaid but can claim a basic allowance plus a Special Responsibility Allowance if they take on extra duties. Can claim expenses for travel and childcare.
Independent Remuneration Panel - will make a recommendation to the level of councillors allowances.
Council governance - decisions are taken by local authorities in two main ways:
‘Old Style’ Committee System - this consists of a number of committees and sub committees of elected councillors covering each main area of policy. Policy proposals are considered by the committee and then, if approved, passed to a meeting of all the councillors - the Full Council - for final approval.
‘New Style’ Leader and Cabinet system - introduced under the local government Act of 2000 this consists of the Leader of the Council or Directly elected Mayor who chooses councillors to sit in the Cabinet and act as an executive, often taking decisions without consulting the majority of councillors.
Scrutiny Committees can make comments and suggest amendments but the Full council only approves key decisions that is those incurring significant expenditure.
Pros and cons of the ‘New Style’ leader and cabinet system
Pros - is said to be quicker and more efficient and bypasses the cumbersome committee system
Cons - some say it is less democratic and creates two classes of councillor - those in the Cabinet who have executive power and those who are effectively ‘backbenchers’ who have little power or say.
Directly elected mayors
The Local Government Act 2000 introduced the idea of directly elected mayors (DEM)
These are powerful, executive style positions and shouldn’t be confused with Lord Mayors and other ceremonial mayors who raise money for charity and attend civil functions but who have little real power.
In 2012 nine cities including Sheffield rejected the chance to have a DEM in a referendum. Doncaster voted to retain its DEM.
Localism Act 2011
The localism Act 2011 sets out a series of measures designed to shift power away from central government and towards local people.
The Act established a ‘general power of competence’ for all local authorities including parish, district, county and unitary authorities. This means that instead of being able to act only where the law says they can, local authorities are free to do anything an individual can do - provided they do not break other laws.
The idea is to cut red tape and encourage more entrepreneurial thinking. The Act, for example, encourages councils to work together to drive down costs and do innovative things to meet local peoples needs.
The Northern Powerhouse
In 2014 the government proposed the Northern Powerhouse to boost economic growth in the north of England championed by the chancellor George Osborune (MP for Tatton in Cheshire)
Greater Manchester the first area to get extra powers over housing, transport, planning, policing and some health spending
In October 2015 the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority became the second area to sign an agreement with George Osborne.
It consists of nine local authority areas- Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley, Bolsover, Bassetlaw, Chesterfield, Derbyshire dales and NE Derbyshire.
Would get extra powers over transport and strategic planning
Would get £30 extra a year for 30 years = £900m
The Sheffield City Region was supposed to have elections for a mayor in May 2017
But this timetable was derailed in December 2016 when Derbyshire County council won a high court battle. The court ruled residents in Chesterfield had not been consulted properly on the Sheffield City Region plan.
Election scheduled for May 2018 - but a rival devolution plan known as One Yorkshire is gaining momentum.
Barnsley and Doncaster voted for One Yorkshire in December 2017 mini referenda.
One Yorkshire Leaders have set out new proposals to urgently unlock the benefits of devolution to all parts of the region while creating a pathway to a full One Yorkshire devolution deal in 2022.
