Local Government in the United Kingdom

Corso di Laurea in Amministrazione, Governo e Sviluppo Locale

Nuoro

Lingua Inglese II

Michela Giordano

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The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is the union between the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The proper definition is “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” but this is shortened to “the United Kingdom”, “Great Britain” or just “UK”.

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Local Government in UK

There is no single system of local government in the United Kingdom.

Each constituent country (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) has a different system of local government.

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2 systems of local government

There are two common systems of local government in the UK:

the old-style two-tier systemthe newer single-tier system

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1) The old-style two-tier system

District Councils responsible for rubbish collection, granting planning permission and council housing, leisure, local roads, and environmental health.

County Councils responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, trading standards, some public transport and other local functions.

The older (and more complex) two-tier system consists of:

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2) The newer single-tier system

• Unitary Authorities: have a single-tier system (only one level) of local government, and combine District and County Council functions into one body.

• In Greater London, a unique two-tier system exists, with power shared between the London borough councils, and the Greater London Authority which is headed by an elected Mayor.

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Local Government in England

For the purposes of local government, England is divided into four levels of administrative divisions:

Regional level County level (Metropolitan county,

Shire county, Unitary authority, Greater London)

District level (Metropolitan district, Non-metropolitan district, London borough)

Parish level (Civil Parish)

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Administrative divisions

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Regional level

England is divided into nine regions. The regions were created in 1994.Since the 1999 Euro-elections, they have

been used as England's European Parliament constituencies.

The regions vary greatly in size, both in their areas and their populations.

The region is currently the highest tier (level) of local government in the United Kingdom.

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Sub-divisions

Local government in England does not follow a uniform structure. Each region is divided into a range of further sub divisions: the layers of government below the regions are mixed.

Greater London is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London.

The other regions are divided into metropolitan counties, shire counties and unitary authorities.

Counties are further divided into districts and in some areas there are also parishes.

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Regions of England

1. London 2. South East 3. South West 4. West Midlands5. North West 6. North East 7. Yorshire and the Humber 8. East Midlands 9. East

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Powers and functions of the Regions

All the regions have the same status, but London is the only region that has an elected Assembly and Mayor.

The others have a relatively minor role, with unelected regional assemblies: the powers of the regional assemblies are limited.

Government departments assign some functions to the English regions.

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Administrative Divisions

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History: Anglo-Saxon period

In England, in the Anglo-Saxon period, shires were areas used for the raising of taxes, and usually had a fortified town at their centre. These became known as the shire town or the county town.

The name 'county' was introduced by the Normans, and was derived from a Norman term for an area administered by a Count (lord). These Norman 'counties' were geographically based upon the Saxon shires, and kept their Saxon names.

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History: Medieval period

The county boundaries of England have changed over time.

In the mediæval period, a number of important cities were granted the status of counties, such as London, Bristol and Coventry.

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History: 1889

For centuries, the counties were used mainly for legal administration and tax raising.

In 1889 administrative counties (county councils) were created: they were based upon the traditional county areas.

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History: 1894 and 1899

The first local government districts were created in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 which created Urban districts and Rural districts as sub-divisions of administrative counties (which had been created in 1889).

Another reform in 1899 created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of the County of London.

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History: 1965

In 1965 and 1974 a major re-organisation of local government created several new administrative counties and also created several new metropolitan counties.

In 1965 Greater London and its 32 London boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use.

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History: 1974

In 1974, the administrative counties were abolished and Metropolitan counties and Non-metropolitan counties (or ‘Shire counties') were created across the rest of England and were split into Metropolitan districts and Non-metropolitan districts.

The metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties replaced the system of administrative counties which were introduced in 1889.

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History: 1986

The status of the London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in 1986.

They absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council which were abolished.

In London, power is now shared again, on a different basis, with the Greater London Authority.

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History: 1990s

During the 1990s a further kind of district was created, the unitary authority, which combined the functions and status of county and district.

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County level

county, from French comté, was simply used by the Normans after 1066 to replace the native English term scir ([ʃir])—Modern English shire.

A shire was an administrative division of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom (Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia), usually named after its administrative centre (Gloucester, in Gloucestershire; Worcester, in Worcestershire).

Many of the names of British Counties are suffixed by the word "shire": they were once controlled on behalf of the sovereign by a 'Shire Reeve' or Sheriff (the most famous was the "Sheriff of Nottingham" in the Tales of Robin Hood).

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Historic counties of England

1. Bedfordshire 2. Berkshire 3. Buckinghamshire 4. Cambridgeshire 5. Cheshire (County of

Chester) 6. Cornwall 7. Cumberland 8. Derbyshire 9. Devon 10. Dorset 11. County Durham 12. Essex 13. Gloucestershire 14. Hampshire 15. Herefordshire 16. Hertfordshire 17. Huntingdonshire 18. Kent 19. Lancashire (County of

Lancaster) 20. Leicestershire 21. Lincolnshire 22. Middlesex

23. Norfolk

24. Northamptonshire

25. Northumberland

26. Nottinghamshire

27. Oxfordshire

28. Rutland

29. Shropshire (County of Salop)

30. Somerset

31. Staffordshire

32. Suffolk

33. Surrey

34. Sussex

35. Warwickshire

36. Westmorland

37. Wiltshire

38. Worcestershire

39. Yorkshire

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County level: responsibilities

Counties in England were originally based on the traditional counties of England.

County level local authorities (county councils) in the UK are responsible for running education, libraries, waste disposal, highways and transport, strategic land use, emergency services, planning, social services, and a number of other functions.

At a county level, England has got:1) Metropolitan counties2) Non-metropolitan or shire counties3) Unitary autorities4) Greater London

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Map of England

A map of England with: 1) shire counties pink, 2) metropolitan and London boroughs purple, 3) unitary authorities red.

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Metropolitan county

• There are six metropolitan counties, divided into metropolitan districts, which cover large urban areas outside London. They were created in 1974. In 1986 their county councils were abolished.

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Shire county

Shire counties or non –metropolitan counties were also created in 1974.

They are 34 and they are divided into non-metropolitan districts. They cover much of the country, though mainly the rural areas.

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Unitary Authority

Unitary authorities were created in the 1990s and are single-tier authorities which combine the functions of county and district councils. There are 47 of them.

A unitary authority is responsible for all local government functions within its area. This is opposed to a two-tier system where local government functions are divided between different authorities.

Typically unitary authorities cover large towns or cities.

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Greater London (1)

Greater London was created in 1965 and it is divided into the City of London and 32 London Boroughs.

The term "London" is often used in reference to Greater London.

Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government: the Greater London Council (GLC) shared power with the Corporation of London (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London borough councils. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986.

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Greater London (2)

The tiny City of London at its centre is often called "the City" or "the Square Mile" and forms the main financial district.

London is the only English region with a directly elected mayor and an elected regional assembly which together comprise the Greater London Authority (the "GLA"), which oversees transport, the fire brigade and economic development.

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District level

The term 'District' can have a number of different meanings: in general, it refers to an administrative area with its own elected council.

Some districts are styled as boroughs, cities, or royal boroughs. These are honorific titles, and do not alter the status of the district.

All Boroughs and Cities, and a very few Districts, are led by a Mayor elected by the Council: in most cases, it is a ceremonial role.

After the most recent local government reform, the mayor is a directly elected Mayor: he/she takes most of the policy decisions instead of the Council.

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Metropolitan district

Metropolitan districts (or metropolitan boroughs) are a subdivision of a metropolitan county.

When the county councils were abolished in 1986, most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the metropolitan districts which therefore function similar to other unitary authorities.

The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million.

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Non-metropolitan (shire) district

Shire counties are divided into non-metropolitan districts.

Non-metropolitan districts (shire districts) are second-tier authorities, which share power with county councils.

They are subdivisions of shire counties and the most common type of district.

The districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000.

The number of non-metropolitan districts has varied over time.

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London boroughs

The 32 London borough councils have a similar status to other unitary authorities.

They run most of the day-to-day services across the capital. Each council is made up of elected councillors.

They set the Council Tax levels which, along with extra funding from central government, allows each borough to provide services such as education, housing, social services, street cleaning, waste disposal, roads, local planning and many arts and leisure services.

The boroughs do not run police or health services.

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Parish level

Below the district level, a district may be divided into several civil parishes.

The civil parish is the most local unit of government in England.

Civil parishes are usually administered by parish councils, which have various local responsibilities.

A parish council can also be called a town council or occasionally a city council.

The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title of Mayor.

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The parish

The Parish is the lowest level of local government formed at a time when there was little difference, to the local people, between the Church and the State.

The parish is usually formed around a village or other small community and used to be centred around the Parish Church.

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Parish councils

Parishes are known as 'local councils'. The role played by parish councils varies.

Smaller parish councils have only limited resources and generally play only a minor role.

Some larger parish councils have a role similar to that of a small district council.

Parish councils receive funding by the council tax paid by the residents of the parish.

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Activities of a parish

Activities undertaken by parish or town councils include:

Provision of certain local facilities such as allotments, bus shelters, parks, playgrounds, public seats, public toilets, public clocks, street lights, village or town halls, leisure and recreation facilities.

Maintenance of footpaths, cemeteries and village greens. Provision of community transport (such as a minibus), crime

prevention measures. Giving of grants to local voluntary organisations, and sponsoring

public events, including entering Britain in Bloom. Parish councils have the right to be consulted on any planning

decisions affecting the parish.

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Local Councils

Local government authorities (known as councils) have powers because the central government has given them powers.

The system of local government is very similar to the system of national government.

There are elected representatives (called councillors) who meet in a council chamber in the Town Hall or County Hall.

Local councils traditionally manage nearly all public services.

Local councils are allowed to collect a tax called the “council tax”. It is based on the estimated value of a property and the number of people living in it.

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Local Government services (1)

Single-tier authorities are responsible for:

• education• social services and

housing• council tax benefits• public libraries• museums and art

galleries• traffic and transportation• refuse collection,

recycling and disposal• planning• environmental health• swimming pools

• leisure facilities• parks• open spaces• countryside including

footpaths• cemeteries and crematoria• markets and fairs• registration of births,

deaths, marriages and electorates

• collecting council tax and business rates.

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Local Government services (2)

District Councils •housing•parks•sports •arts and entertainment •land •use planning permission•environmental health•waste collection and recycling •street cleaning•council tax collection•council tax and housing•electoral registration and administration

County Councils•education•libraries•social services•trading, standards•waste disposal•highways and transport•strategic land use•planning

Town and Parish Councils•community centres•arts and leisure facilities•parks and play areas• public conveniences and other services•have a right to be notified about planning in the area.