Local government

Local government in England. Structure: Regional government: The Greater London Authority and combined authorities form the highest tier of ‘local government’ in England — they are relatively new, almost all have a (increasingly high profile) mayor and they only cover certain parts of the country; Local authorities: Some places have two tiers of local authorities (at district and county level), but this has become less common since the 1980s and most places now just have one, unitary, local authority; Parish councils: Parish councils make up the most local tier of local government in England — they are usually very small, their powers are limited and not everywhere has one. It is also important to note that these are only the main parts of local government in England — there are other parts!
Local government finance in England. Income: There are four main sources of local government income in England: UK Government grants, council tax, (retained) business rates and sales, fees and charges. UK Government grants: UK Government grants make up 50.7% of local government income, but they reduce the power of local government through ‘ring fencing’ and making it dependent on the politics of the UK Government. Council tax: Council tax is a domestic property tax set and collected by local authorities (other parts of local government also receive funding from it and get a say over rates) — it makes up 31.8% of local government income. Business rates: Business rates is a non-domestic property tax shared between the UK Government and local government, the retained portion makes up 15.3% of local government income. Other: Local government is also funded through the sales, fees and charges that it makes, but these make up very little of its overall income. Local government is totally dependent on getting permission from the UK Parliament to raise money in new ways, significantly reducing its power. Expenditure: Seeing how local government spends its money gives a good idea of what it does and the following three services make up almost three quarters of its spending: Education: 33.0% of local government spending is still on education, in spite of the fact that more and more schools are becoming academies, which are not funded by local authorities; Social care: 26.9% of local government spending is on social care (17.2% on adult social care and 9.7% on child social care); Policing: 12.6% of local government spending is on policing, which is the responsibility of Police and Crime Commissioners and a small number of mayors.
Who makes up local authorities? Politicians: There are over 16,000 local authority councillors in England. Local authority councillors are elected to represent a geographical electoral division/ward (some share) every four years via first past the post. Local authority councillors usually work part-time, but their role still includes: assisting and raising the concerns of constituents, attending ‘full council’ meetings every few months, being a member of committees, like planning or scrutiny committees, if they happen to be a member of the cabinet, making decisions in that role and taking on additional non-executive roles, like as a ceremonial mayor. However, unless they are a member of the cabinet, their role will mainly be limited to “overview and scrutiny” of the cabinet. Officers: Most people in local authority buildings are not politicians, but permanent and politically-impartial officers. Officers carry out the actual work of local authorities; refuse collectors, social workers and teachers can all be officers. Executive arrangements: Local authorities have three main options of how to run themselves, known as executive arrangements: Mayor and cabinet: A small number of local authorities have a directly-elected mayor as well as councillors: under this model, almost all functions are exercised by the mayor and the councillors who they appoint to their cabinet; Leader and cabinet: Most local authorities choose a councillor from the largest political group to be leader: under this model, almost all functions are exercised by the leader and the other councillors who they appoint to their cabinet; Committee: A small number of local authorities still use the pre-2000 system: under this model, almost all functions are exercised by multiple topic-based committees made up of councillors from multiple political parties.
What do local authorities do? The UK Parliament has granted local authorities many specific functions, which include: Adult social care: The Care Act 2014, s 18(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to, within certain limitations, “meet [an] adult's needs for care and support which meet the eligibility criteria” in their area, like by providing a carer; Child social care: The Children Act 1989, s 20(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to provide accommodation for children who essentially do not have anywhere else to live; Culture: The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, s 7(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to “provide a comprehensive and efficient library service”; Education: The Education Act 1996, s 13(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to ensure that there is “efficient” and “sufficient” primary, secondary and further education in their areas (although more schools are now becoming independent from local authorities); General power of competence: The Localism Act 2011, s 1(1) gives local authorities (and others) the power “to do anything that individuals generally may do”, but local authorities are explicitly not allowed to use this power for “commercial purpose”, to raise taxes or to run bus services, among other things; Licensing: The Licensing Act 2003, s 18(3) empowers local authorities (traditionally district councils) to grant licenses to sell or supply alcohol, provide “regulated entertainment” and provide “late night refreshment”; Planning permission: The Town and County Planning Act 1990, s 58(1) empowers local authorities to decide whether to grant planning permission for the development of land — this is probably the most contentious area of local authority responsibility!; Public health: The National Health Service Act 2006, s 2B(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to take steps to improve the health of the people in its area, like by providing services and facilities; Roads: The Highways Act 1980, s 41(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to maintain the roads that they are responsible for, which is most roads with the key exception of “trunk roads”; Waste: The Environmental Protection Act 1990, s 45(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally district councils) to arrange for the collection of “controlled waste” and s 51(1) puts a duty on local authorities (traditionally county councils) to arrange for the disposal of “controlled waste”.
Parish councils. What are they? Parish councils (also called town, village, community, neighbourhood or city councils (confusingly, some local authorities also refer to themselves as city councils!)) form the lowest layer of local government in England. There are over 10,000 and they have an average population of around 2,000 people (this can vary from under 100 to Northampton, with almost 140,000!). They are the oldest form of local government in England, dating back to well before 1832! Parish councillors: All parish councils have parish councillors, who each represent a geographical ward (some wards have multiple parish councillors). Some parish councils (generally larger ones) will have elections to elect parish councillors, who may even stand under the label of a political party. However, other parish councils (usually smaller ones) struggle to get enough people to stand as parish councillors to hold an election and so parish councillors will generally be co-opted (appointed) by other parish councillors. Officers: Parish councils also have officers — all will have a clerk and larger ones may also have other staff, like gardeners. What do they do? Like other parts of local government, parish councils can only do what the UK Parliament says that they can do. Parish councils generally install and look after local amenities (like bins, greens and paths) and they also often give opinions on planning matters (although they cannot grant planning permission). Parish councils also get a say over, and are funded by, council tax.
Police and Crime Commissioners. What are they? Police and Crime Commissioners are elected individuals who oversee almost every police force in England and Wales. They were first elected in 2012, replacing police authorities, which were made up of local authority councillors and independent members. There were initially 41 but, since 2016, two have been replaced by metro mayors (the Mayor of London has also always held the role) and more metro mayor takeovers are planned. What do they do? Police and Crime Commissioners have limited powers and must swear an oath not to interfere with the operational independence of the police. Their main roles are: ensuring that their police force has enough money to be “efficient and effective” (they can raise council tax), holding their Chief Constable to account and appointing, suspending and removing them and issuing a police and crime plan. Since 2017, four have also taken over the role of fire and rescue authorities (as metro mayors also can) and become Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners. Are they effective? In 2010, Home Secretary Theresa May described police authorities as “remote and invisible, without the capability and the mandate to insist on the priorities of local people”; Police and Crime Commissioners were supposed to remedy this situation. Turnout in Police and Crime Commissioner elections has been extremely low: 33.2% in 2021, 26.6% in 2016 and just 15.1% in 2012, suggesting that the public has not warmed to Police and Crime Commissioners (or possibly do not even know what they are!) Police and Crime Commissioners seem to make the headlines most for their scandals: for example, in 2023, Alun Michael (South Wales) was accused of misleading the public over the involvement of police in a fatal crash. Police and Crime Commissioners are arguably too limited in their powers: for instance, factors outside their control (like education) heavily influence crime rates. At a time when the police is (seemingly) under more scrutiny than ever, Police and Crime Commissioners are well placed to carry this important function out. Sometimes, it appears that there is confusion over whether Police and Crime Commissioners are the ‘head’ or ‘scrutiniser’ of their respective police force.
Greater London Authority. What is the GLA? The Greater London Authority (GLA) is made up of one Mayor of London and 25 Assembly Members (AMs). A history… When the Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, Greater London was left with no single local government body. Labour promised to change this and, following a referendum in 1998, the first elections to the GLA took place in 2000. Mayor of London: Almost all power rests with the Mayor: Chairing Transport for London; Holding the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade to account; Preparing a budget worth £20 billion; Writing strategies (including the London Plan); Representing Greater London. Assembly Members: AMs have two main jobs: Scrutinising the Mayor, deputy mayors and other GLA staff; Amending the budget or rejecting a strategy by a two-thirds majority. Referendums: 1998: 35% turnout, 72% voted yes and 28% voted no. Mayors: Sadiq Khan (Labour) (2016–); Boris Johnson (Conservative) (2008–2016); Ken Livingstone (Independent/Labour) (2000–2008).
Combined authorities. What are combined authorities? Combined authorities are ‘supergroups’ of local authorities. The first combined authority (Greater Manchester) was created in 2011, but there are now ten and more are planned! What are metro mayors? Metro mayors chair almost every combined authority board (the other members are mainly from the local authorities). The first metro mayors were elected in 2017. How are they created? Combined authorities are established through deals (mainly) between local authorities and the UK Government. As well as being used to create combined authorities, devolution deals are also used to establish more powers and funding for the combined authority. Where are they? The combined authorities are: West Midlands; Greater Manchester; West Yorkshire; Liverpool City Region; South Yorkshire; North East (the North East Combined Authority does not currently have a metro mayor); West of England; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; North of Tyne; Tees Valley. What do they do? The functions of combined authorities and metro mayors can include: Being an integrated transport authority; Being the Police(, Fire) and Crime Commissioner; Establishing development corporations; Representing the region; Spending grants (particularly on adult education, investment and transport).
Reforming English devolution. Here are four ideas for England now that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved governments. English Votes for English Laws (EVEL): EVEL was relatively cheap and simple. EVEL was not very impressive and in no way equal to devolution. EVEL was a solution to the ‘West Lothian Question’ that would avoid situations like that involving English tuition fees and Scottish MPs in 2005. EVEL was accused of creating a two-tier system of unequal MPs. Regional government: Regional government can be flexible to suit local needs and desires, like by focusing on geographic inequalities. Regional government’s flexibility can make it complex and inaccessible. Regional government has already made an impact in England, like over: Adult education (West Midlands); Buses (Greater Manchester); Road pricing (Greater London). Regional government remains heavily underpowered and reliant on the UK Government for money and power. English Parliament: There appears to be no public appetite for the massive effort that an English Parliament would be to establish. An English Parliament would be a ‘proper’ solution to match Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. the UK, an English Parliament risks being too similar to the UK Parliament in people, purview and problems. Do nothing! Of course, another view is that these are all solutions searching for a problem.