Understand how your council works
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1. Types of council
This guide relates to councils in England. Find information about councils in Scotland, councils in Wales and councils in Northern Ireland.
Many parts of England have 2 tiers of local government:
- county councils
- district, borough or city councils
In some parts of the country, there’s just 1 (unitary) tier of local government providing all the local services. The 3 main types are:
- unitary authorities in shire areas
- London boroughs
- metropolitan boroughs
County councils
These are responsible for services across the whole of a county, like:
- education
- transport
- planning
- fire and public safety
- social care
- libraries
- waste management
- trading standards
District, borough and city councils
These cover a smaller area than county councils. They’re usually responsible for services like:
- rubbish collection
- recycling
- Council Tax collections
- housing
- planning applications
Unitary authorities and London and metropolitan boroughs
In some parts of the country, 1 tier of local government provides all the local services listed above.
In London and metropolitan areas some services, like fire, police and public transport, are provided through ‘joint authorities’ (in London by the Greater London Authority).
Parish, community and town councils
These operate at a level below district and borough councils and in some cases, unitary authorities.
They’re elected and can help on a number of local issues, like providing:
- allotments
- public clocks
- bus shelters
- community centres
- play areas and play equipment
- grants to help local organisations
- consultation on neighbourhood planning
They also have the power to issue fixed penalty fines for things like:
- litter
- graffiti
- fly posting
- dog offences
2. Decision making
The full council (a meeting of all council members) is responsible for all decisions. But in practice, most of the work is given to smaller groups of councillors or council officers (paid staff).
Every council must publish:
- details of when key decisions will be taken
- papers of meetings – at least 5 working days beforehand
- minutes of meetings – showing the decisions that were made
You can view council meeting agendas, minutes and reports on your council’s website.
You can also attend most council meetings, although usually you will not be able to speak at them.
Mayors
Many councils have a civic mayor or chairman of the council. They carry out ceremonial duties and chair meetings, but cannot make decisions about council business.
Some councils have an elected mayor. They’re responsible for the day-to-day running of local services.
Councils can have both elected and civic mayors.
3. Spending and accounts
Many local councils provide information on their websites to show how they spend their budget.
You can view details of:
- payments for goods and services over £500
- contracts and tenders over £500
Looking at annual accounts
Every year councils must open their detailed financial accounts to the public for 30 working days.
This allows you to check any spending under £500 without having to make a freedom of information request.
Your council must publish on its website and in the local press details of when you can check its accounts.
4. Local councillors and elections
Local councillors are elected for 4-year terms by the local community to represent its views.
You can contact your local councillor online or by going to an advice surgery.
When local elections are held
Elections to councils are normally held on the first Thursday in May.
Some councils elect all of their councillors at the same time. Other councils elect half or a third of their councillors at each election. Read about the election timetable in England.
You can find out more about local council elections from the Electoral Commission.
Declaring interests
All local councillors have to declare any interests, gifts or hospitality they get that could influence decisions they make.
Your local council must publish details of these. You can usually access them on your council’s website or at the town hall.
5. Make a complaint
If you feel that a council service has not been properly delivered, you can make an official complaint.
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If you’re still not happy, complain to your council’s complaints officer.
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If this does not resolve the issue, you may be able to get the Local Government Ombudsman to look into it.
The Ombudsman considers complaints if you’ve suffered because of:
- the way a council service has been given
- how a decision has been made
The Ombudsman usually only considers your complaint once it’s been through your local council’s complaints procedure.
Local Government Ombudsman
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
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