29-466: Somerset South may refer to: South Somerset , a local government district in Somerset, England South Somerset (UK Parliament constituency) (1885–1918) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Somerset South . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
58-597: A unitary district for the area previously served by Somerset County Council . The district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil , adopting the South Somerset name in 1985. It was formed by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Chard , Yeovil , along with Crewkerne and Ilminster urban districts and the Chard Rural District , Langport Rural District , Wincanton Rural District and Yeovil Rural District . The district covered
87-540: Is based at County Hall in Taunton . Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over administrative functions previously carried out by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions . The city of Bath was considered large enough to run its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough , independent from Somerset County Council. The county council
116-467: Is due in 2027. The last full review of electoral boundaries took effect in 2013, when the county was divided into 54 electoral divisions , each of which elected one councillor except for the Glastonbury and Street division which elected two. As part of the process leading up to becoming a unitary authority in 2023, the election that should have been held in 2021 was postponed until 2022, at which election
145-527: Is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England . Since 2023 it has been a unitary authority , being a county council which also performs the functions of a district council . The non-metropolitan county of Somerset is smaller than the ceremonial county , which additionally includes Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset . The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2022. It
174-660: The Children’s Services Department and concluded that it remained "inadequate". The corresponding report found no improvement in the care provided by the children's services and described a "corporate failure" to keep children safe. Ofsted found there were "widespread or serious failures" which it considered placed children to be harmed or at risk of harm. The report also identified managers who "have not been able to demonstrate sufficient understanding of failures" and had been ineffective in "prioritising, challenging and making improvements". In January 2015, Julian Wooster
203-552: The coming two years. The chief executive said he had "no choice" because of cuts to central government funding . Further proposed cuts include reducing winter gritting, suspending 'park and ride' services, stopping funding for Citizens Advice , cutting adult social care and support for people with learning difficulties, cuts to the GetSet programme which helps stop vulnerable young people needing social care. In July 2018, two senior Conservative councillors resigned over concerns regarding
232-412: The council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: Two-tier non-metropolitan county council Unitary authority The leaders of the council since 1993 have been: Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was as follows: Three of the independent councillors sit together as a group. The next election
261-416: The council's handling of financial matters. Dean Ruddle and Neil Bloomfield had previously held roles as the respective chair and vice chair of the audit committee. An official audit of the council criticised its "pervasive" overspending and its failure to deliver sufficient savings over the previous 12 months. In September 2018, the council voted through £28 million of spending cuts, spread over
290-457: The council's offices, but full council meetings continued to be held in the council chamber at Shire Hall until 2020. In-person council meetings were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the resumption of in-person meetings in 2021, full council meetings have been held in various larger venues across the county, initially to allow for social distancing and since 2022 to accommodate
319-672: The county council, and was also the Conservative MP for Mid Somerset . At that first meeting, the council debated where future meetings should be held. Some advocated that meetings should be held alternately at the Shire Hall in Taunton and the Town Hall in Wells , as the quarter sessions had been. The council decided to meet solely in Taunton. Councillors noted that although Wells was more central to
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#1733085776217348-414: The county, it was only served by branch line railways, whereas Taunton station had direct services to more destinations across the county. When local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , Somerset ceded north-eastern parts of its territory to the new county of Avon , and the reduced Somerset was designated as a non-metropolitan county . The lower tier of local government
377-419: The government selected the plan for a single authority. The way the change was implemented was to replace the four districts with a single district of Somerset matching the non-metropolitan county, but with no separate district council; instead the existing county council took on district-level functions, making it a unitary authority. As part of the changes, the county council was given the option of omitting
406-460: The larger number of councillors. The council has several other administrative buildings across the county, including the offices of the former district councils that it inherited in 2023. As at March 2024 the council was considering its options for how to reduce the number of buildings it operates. In January 2013, Ofsted inspectors gave Somerset Councils' Children’s Services the lowest rating of "inadequate". In January 2015, Ofsted reinspected
435-414: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Somerset_South&oldid=933135382 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages South Somerset Download coordinates as: South Somerset
464-497: The next two years. Critics of the cuts, including Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, noted that between 2009 and 2016, Somerset's Conservative administration had voted to freeze Council Tax, when an increase of 1.9% would have brought in an additional £114 million. Following the change to unitary status, in November 2023 the council declared a financial emergency, projecting an overspend of £27 million in that year and
493-432: The non-metropolitan county, being the area administered by Somerset County Council (called Somerset Council since 2023), and the ceremonial county, which also includes Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset. The first proposal to create a Somerset unitary authority was made in 2007, but was rejected in a local referendum . The idea of replacing Somerset's two tiers of local government with unitary authorities
522-465: The number of councillors was doubled. Each division then elected two councillors, and the old Glastonbury and Street division was divided into two divisions each of which elected two councillors, giving 110 councillors in total. The councillors who were elected in 2022 are due to serve an extended five-year term until 2027, after which elections will be held every four years. The council has its headquarters at County Hall on The Crescent in Taunton, which
551-583: The other district councils in the county until their abolition. Its main towns included: The electoral wards included: Camelot and Wessex . County schools (those which are not independent ) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county were operated by Somerset County Council (now Somerset Council ). For a full list of schools see: List of schools in Somerset Somerset County Council Somerset Council , known until 2023 as Somerset County Council ,
580-538: The right home. Inspectors singled out adoption services as being "good". In July 2022, the service was judged by Ofsted to be "good" in all areas, but found that two areas still needed improvement: placement sufficiency, and the take-up of return home interviews for children who have been missing. Somerset County Council needed to save £19.5 million in 2017/18, but only cut £11.1 million. Cuts were announced to highways, public transport and special needs services. Staff were told to take two days off unpaid for
609-642: The whole of the Yeovil constituency , and part of Somerton and Frome . The district was governed by the South Somerset District Council, last elected in the 2019 South Somerset District Council election . On 1 April 2023, the district council was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council , a unitary authority for the area previously served by Somerset County Council . Elections for the new council took place in May 2022. It ran alongside South Somerset and
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#1733085776217638-548: The word 'county' from its name, which it took, becoming Somerset Council from 1 April 2023 when the changes took effect. Somerset Council provides both county-level and district-level functions . The whole county is also covered by civil parishes , which form a second tier of local government. Somerset Council appoints seven members to the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority . The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2022. Political control of
667-535: Was a local government district in Somerset , England, from 1974 to 2023. The district covered an area of 370 square miles (958 km ) ranging from the borders with Devon , Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels . It had a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district was Yeovil . On 1 April 2023, the district was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council ,
696-497: Was abolished in 1996, being divided into four unitary authorities. Two of them, Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset , cover the areas that had been ceded by Somerset in 1974. For the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty , those two districts were restored to Somerset as part of the 1996 reforms. However, they were not brought into the non-metropolitan county of Somerset. Since 1996 there have therefore been two differing legal definitions of Somerset in use:
725-515: Was appointed director of Children's Services, the fifth such appointment in five years. In November 2017, the service was inspected by Ofsted. Services were judged to have improved, but still "require[d] improvement to be good" in all but one area. The report found that services for children needing help and protection required improvement, as did leadership, management and governance. The inspectors concluded that too many children in foster care experienced moves between placements before they were found
754-523: Was elected by and provided services to the rest of the county, which area was termed the administrative county . The first elections were held on 23 January 1889 and the county council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at the Town Hall in Highbridge . The first chairman was Richard Paget , who had been the chairman of the quarter sessions which preceded
783-434: Was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1935. The complex has been subsequently extended, notably with a large tower block in the 1960s. When first created in 1889, the council chose to meet at Shire Hall in Taunton, a courthouse completed in 1858 which had been one of the meeting places of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. County Hall was built immediately to the east of Shire Hall to accommodate
812-416: Was reorganised as part of the same reforms. Prior to 1974 it had comprised numerous boroughs , urban districts and rural districts . After 1974 the lower tier within the redefined Somerset comprised five non-metropolitan districts : Mendip , Sedgemoor , South Somerset , Taunton Deane , and West Somerset . In 2019, West Somerset and Taunton Deane were merged to form Somerset West and Taunton . Avon
841-515: Was revived as part of the 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England . The county council drew up initial plans for a single unitary authority in 2018. The district councils proposed an alternative model of two unitary authorities called East Somerset and West Somerset. A non-binding referendum of residents held in June 2021 expressed a preference for the two-authority proposal. Nevertheless,
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