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57-572: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees , which straddles the ceremonial counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire in England. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority , being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council . It therefore provides services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, town planning, waste collection and disposal, and it

114-495: A Mayor of London and 25-member London Assembly . The first mayoral and assembly elections took place in 2000. The former Leader of the Greater London Council , Ken Livingstone , served as the inaugural Mayor, until he was defeated by future Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2008 . The incumbent, Sadiq Khan , was first elected in 2016 . The Mayor's functions include chairing Transport for London , holding

171-468: A non-metropolitan county council and two or more non-metropolitan district councils share responsibility for these services. In single-tier areas a unitary authority , London borough , or metropolitan borough provides all services. The City of London and Isles of Scilly have unique local authorities. The London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, and some unitary authorities collaborate through regional authorities. The Greater London Authority (GLA)

228-539: A vote of no confidence in the leader. In addition, the compliance of councillors with their code of conduct may be overseen by a standards committee, although since the coming into effect of the Localism Act 2011 this can be dispensed with and its functions can be delegated to a monitoring officer. The elected mayor and cabinet model was introduced by the Local Government Act 2000. Councils currently operating

285-483: A county council and a district council, which would share local authority functions. In May 2022, 21 non-metropolitan county councils and 164 non-metropolitan district councils remain. These are better known as simply county councils and district councils. The Local Government Act 1985 also abolished metropolitan county councils, but there are still 36 metropolitan district councils as of May 2022. There are also (as of April 2023) 62 unitary authorities. These carry out

342-547: A devolution deal, which are usually reserved to combined authorities for additional functions and funding. And, like some combined authorities and parish councils, local authorities do have a general power of competence . Separate to combined authorities, two or more local authorities can also work together through joint boards (for legally-required services: fire, public transport and waste disposal), joint committees (voluntarily) or through contracting out and agency arrangements. The Greater London Authority Act 1999 established

399-460: A local authority. Ten currently exist, with more planned. Parish councils form the lowest tier of local government and govern civil parishes . They may also be called a 'community council', 'neighbourhood council', 'village council', 'town council' or (if the parish holds city status) 'city council', but these names are stylistic and do not change their responsibilities. As of December 2021 there are 10,475 parishes in England, but they do not cover

456-620: A parish council must meet certain conditions of quality. Civil parishes developed in the nineteenth century and were based on the Church of England's parishes , which until then had both ecclesiastical and local government functions; parish councils were created by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73). The ecclesiastical parishes continue to exist, but neither they nor their parochial church councils have any local government role. There are 317 local authorities covering

513-404: A third option for an elected mayor and council manager, which was only adopted by one authority and was later withdrawn. Additionally, lower tier authorities with a population under 85,000 were allowed to continue to use a committee system. The leader and cabinet model was introduced under the Local Government Act 2000 . It consists of the leader and the cabinet itself, which is usually formed by

570-549: A whole has limited revenue-raising powers compared to other G7 countries. In the 20th century, local authorities found that the costs of providing services exceeded the revenues raised from local taxes and so grants from the UK Government (specifically the Treasury ) gradually increased. However, UK Government grants were cut by 40% in real terms between the financial years 2009/10 and 2019/20, although grant income did grow due to

627-483: A whole. These decisions are scrutinised by one or more "overview and scrutiny" committees, which may be dedicated to one or more service areas. The leader and cabinet are responsible for policies, plans, and strategies, which must be within the budget adopted by the full council. These will be reported to the overall "full" council, which is convened to bring together all elected members of the authority at regular meetings. One or more overview and scrutiny committees holds

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684-481: Is a public interest in disclosing information about local government investments which will generally outweigh any concerns about whether disclosure could affect an investment's performance or be protected by confidentiality requirements. Local authorities cannot borrow money to finance day-to-day spending and so must rely on yearly income or reserves for this type of expenditure, although they can borrow to fund capital expenditure. Local government in England as

741-484: Is a local education authority. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority , which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017. The town of Stockton-on-Tees was an ancient borough . The borough's date of creation is unknown, but Stockton was being described as a borough by 1283. The original borough had a very tightly drawn boundary; by 1835 it

798-517: Is clear both practically and democratically that the overly centralised arrangements of government in England are problematic" and that reform was also needed of funding structures. As of May 2024, the various combined authorities, county, district, and sui generis councils formed an administrative hierarchy as shown in the table below. Unitary authorities are legally either district councils which also perform county functions or county councils which also perform district functions; they therefore straddle

855-455: Is exercised, alongside full council, by a number of committees, made up of councillors in proportion to their parties' representation on the council. Such councils may choose to nominate a councillor as Leader of the Council for the purposes of representing the political leadership of the council, particularly in relations with external bodies. If no leader is nominated, as was the case prior to 2000,

912-464: Is responsible for housing , waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority , responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority . The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 election the Conservatives were

969-455: Is the regional authority for Greater London , with responsibility for transport, policing, fire and rescue, development and strategic planning. Combined authorities are statutory bodies which allow two or more local authorities to voluntarily pool responsibilities and negotiate a devolution deal with the UK Government for the area they cover, giving it powers beyond those typically held by

1026-549: The COVID-19 pandemic . Local government receives two types of grants: the Revenue Support Grant, which can be spent on any service according to the wishes of the local government body in question, and specific grants, which are usually 'ring fenced' to specifically defined service areas. Council tax was introduced in 1993 to replace the ' poll tax '. It is a domestic property tax, based on eight bands (A to H) depending on

1083-687: The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Commissioner to account and keeping strategies up to date, including the London Plan . Meanwhile, it is the Assembly's role to regularly hold the Mayor and their key advisers to account and it can also amend the budget or a strategy by a two-thirds majority, though this has not ever happened as of March 2022. Combined authorities can be created at

1140-542: The Localism Act 2011 . In every area, one local authority acts as the billing authority (the district council in two-tier areas), which prepares and collects council tax bills. Other parts of local government (like county councils in two-tier areas, police and crime commissioners, fire authorities, parish councils and combined authorities) act as precepting authorities, which notify the relevant billing authority of their decision on council tax and later receive this money from

1197-406: The leader of the council . The leaders since 1990 have been: Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 56 councillors representing 27 wards , with each ward election one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council has its main offices at

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1254-623: The sui generis City of London Corporation . The other sui generis local authorities are the Council of the Isles of Scilly , Middle Temple and Inner Temple . Outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly , the Local Government Act 1972 divided England into metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, which would have one county council and multiple district councils each. That meant that each area would be covered by two tiers of local authorities - both

1311-559: The Electoral Commission has recommended that all authorities use whole council elections every 4 years. Local authorities have a choice of executive arrangements under the Local Government Act 2000 : mayor and cabinet executive, leader and cabinet executive, a committee system or bespoke arrangements approved by the Secretary of State. As of April 2023, just 15 local authorities have directly-elected mayors . Some functions are just

1368-521: The Labour Party as of 2024 except for Tees Valley . Each combined authority's executive consists of a representative from each of its constituent local authorities, plus (if applicable) the mayor. Functions can be devolved directly to the mayor, to the combined authority as a whole, or have a different decision-making requirement. The budget and functions of each combined authority can be vastly different, but possible functions include responsibility for

1425-467: The Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Stockton-on-Tees is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority , Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it

1482-640: The Municipal Buildings on Church Road in Stockton, which was purpose-built for the old borough council and opened in 1961. Until 2020 full council meetings were generally held at Stockton Town Hall in the High Street, which was built in 1735. Following the resumption of in-person meetings in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic , meetings have been held instead in the Baptist Church or the conference suite at

1539-622: The Secretary of State the power to provide for a directly-elected combined authority mayor . And, as of May 2022, nine out of the 10 combined authorities have mayors, including Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Andy Street in the West Midlands . In the 2024 local elections , new Combined Authorities were elected; they were the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority , North East Mayoral Combined Authority , East Midlands Combined County Authority . They are all controlled by

1596-405: The agreement of the relevant local authorities, and under the Localism Act 2011 eligible parish councils can be granted a " general power of competence " (GPC) which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this

1653-594: The billing authority. Between financial years 2009/10 and 2021/22, council tax rates increased by 30% in real terms, in light of reduced grants from the UK Government. Business rates is a tax on business premises. It is based on the rateable value of the premises (set by the Valuation Office Agency ) and a business rate multiplier. It is set and collected by billing authorities. Reforms in 2013 now mean that local authorities keep 50% of business rate revenues raised locally. The UK Government then distributes

1710-431: The cabinet to account for its decisions and is responsible that the democratic checks and balances are maintained. The principal executive decisions taken by the council as a whole are to appoint the leader, to approve the leader's budget, to adopt development plan documents, and to agree on the council's constitution. Beyond that, it may raise issues, urge the leader, cabinet, or cabinet members to take actions, or pass

1767-463: The chair of the council's main policy committee may be informally deemed to be the council's de facto leader. Some councils operate governance arrangements which have the characteristics of more than one formal governance option. For example, an authority operating under conventional executive arrangements but whose overview and scrutiny committees operate in a manner similar to those under the committee system (developing policy, taking an active part in

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1824-401: The committee system is used, executive power is exercised through various committees rather than being focussed on one person. Many councils which use the committee system still nominate one of the councillors to hold the title 'Leader of the Council', albeit without the same powers as a leader under the leader and cabinet model. From the establishment of elected local authorities in England in

1881-481: The council from among themselves Elected mayor and cabinet Executive mayor elected by the people Committee system Executive leader and executive committees elected by the council from among themselves In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements , having an "elected mayor and cabinet ", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions will be made within

1938-504: The council. In councils which use the elected mayor system, the mayor is directly elected by the electorate to provide political leadership for the council and has power to make executive decisions. In councils which use the leader and cabinet model (the most commonly used model), the elected councillors choose one of their number to be the Leader of the Council , and that person provides political leadership and can make executive decisions. Where

1995-446: The county and district columns. Metropolitan districts and London boroughs are also shown straddling the county and district columns. In much of the country there is also a lower tier of civil parishes . This administrative hierarchy differs from the ceremonial hierarchy . Leader of the council Executive mayor elected by the people, elected legislative City council Council - Manager Executive leader elected by

2052-507: The existence of a leader of the council, others did not. The role of Leader of the Council in that regard was similar to that of the British prime minister ; the post had not been explicitly created, but gradually emerged. The Local Government Act 2000 sought to strengthen public engagement with local democracy, and streamline the system of committees, introducing the models of directly elected mayors and cabinets, leaders and cabinets, as well as

2109-576: The financial year 2019/20, local authorities received 22% of their funding from grants, 52% from council tax and 27% from retained business rates. In the financial year 2023/24, 51% of revenue expenditure is expected to come from UK Government grants, 31% from council tax and 15% from retained business rates. Local government can also receive some money from fees and charges for the use of services, returns and interest from investments , commercial income, fixed penalty notices and capital receipts. The Information Commissioner's Office has ruled that there

2166-689: The functions of both county and district councils and have replaced two-tier local government in some areas. The creation of these first became possible under the Local Government Act 1992 , but now takes place under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . In the 2023/24 financial year, 33% of budgeted service expenditure across local government as a whole is set to be on education , 19% on adult social care , 13% on police , 11% on children's social care and 24% on all other services. Notably, Cornwall Council has been subject to

2223-684: The largest party, but a minority Labour administration was able to retain control with the informal support of the two smaller parties, the Thornaby Independent Association and the Ingleby Barwick Independent Society. Political control of the council since its re-establishment in 1974 has been as follows: Non-metropolitan district Unitary authority The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Stockton-on-Tees, with political leadership instead provided by

2280-399: The leader of the controlling party as being the 'Leader of the Council'. It was also generally recognised that the most powerful political position on a council was the person who chaired the main policy-making committee, which in most councils was called the policy and resources committee. Usually, the leader of the largest party would chair that committee. Some councils explicitly acknowledged

2337-413: The lowest tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities. Local authorities cover the entirety of England, and are responsible for services such as education, transport, planning applications, and waste collection and disposal. In two-tier areas

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2394-403: The majority party in the local authority , where there is one, or by a coalition which comes together to elect a leader. The council elects the leader, and the leader appoints the other members of the cabinet. Each cabinet member holds a separate portfolio, such as housing, finance, economic development, or education. Decisions may be delegated to the individual members, or taken by the cabinet as

2451-505: The mayoral model include: The elected mayor and council manager option was also introduced by the Local Government Act 2000, but withdrawn by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . The only local authority to adopt the model was Stoke-on-Trent City Council , reverting to leader and cabinet in 2008. Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2000 allowed district councils in two tier areas, with populations under 85,000, to propose alternative executive arrangements. This

2508-435: The nineteenth century until the Local Government Act 2000 , councils used a system of committees for decision making. There was no legislative requirement for any councillor to be declared the leader, with the principle being that all the elected councillors were equal in status. In practice, political groups had their own leaders, and when a council was under the control of a particular party, local media would commonly refer to

2565-523: The people within government are unsure at times where powers and responsibility, and hence accountability, rest, this lack of clarity is magnified for individuals who have little knowledge or experience of the structures. This has the potential to leave individuals less likely to be able to access what they need from government, leaving them often unable to know who is responsible, and as a result are not properly able to hold their democratic representatives to account. The Committee also said that "[t]he evidence

2622-773: The relevant police force and/or fire brigade , bus franchising and spatial strategy. Lower-tier of a two-tier system. Upper-tier of a two-tier system. De facto unitary authorities since abolition of metropolitan county councils . Metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 and most of their functions were devolved to the metropolitan boroughs making them unitary authorities in all but name. Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. South Yorkshire . Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. Greater Manchester . In England, local authorities have three main sources of funding: UK Government grants, council tax and business rates . In

2679-469: The remaining 50% of business rate revenues according to its own judgement. It was initially planned to increase the proportion of business rates that local authorities retain to 100%, but this was indefinitely delayed in 2021. In 2022, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said that it had "significant concerns about the current governance arrangements for England": If

2736-520: The request of two or more local authorities. Combined authorities do not replace the local authorities in question, but can receive separate functions and funding. As of May 2022, there are 10 combined authorities covering some of England. The Secretary of State was first granted the power to create combined authorities by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 . The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 gave

2793-503: The responsibility of the executive of a local authority, but local authorities must also have at least one overview and scrutiny committee to hold the executive to account. The London Government Act 1963 established 32 London borough councils. It also established the Greater London Council , covering the whole of Greater London , but this was later abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 . Greater London also includes

2850-629: The town's library, both of which adjoin the Municipal Buildings. In 2021 the council purchased an office building called Dunedin House on Columbia Drive on the south bank of the River Tees in Thornaby , which had been completed in 1992. Conversion works to turn it into a new headquarters for the council are underway with a view to it opening during 2024. Local government in England Civil parishes are

2907-411: The value of the property on 1 April 1991. Various discounts are set out in law and exist at the discretion of billing authorities. On a yearly basis, local government bodies review and consider whether to increase or decrease the level of council tax to fund their spending plans. The level at which a local authority can increase council tax each year without holding a local referendum is regulated by

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2964-560: The whole of England. There are five main types of local authorities: London borough councils , two-tier county and district councils , metropolitan district councils and unitary authorities . Some local authorities have borough , city or royal borough status, but this is purely stylistic. All local authorities are made up of councillors , who represent geographical wards . There are 7,026 wards as of December 2021. Local authorities run on four year cycles and councillors may be elected all at once, by halves or by thirds; although

3021-430: The whole of the country as many urban parishes were abolished in 1974. The only specific statutory function of parish councils, which they must do, is establishing allotments . However, there are a number of other functions given by powers in the relevant legislation, which they can do, such as providing litter bins and building bus shelters . Their statutory functions are few, but they may provide other services with

3078-430: Was abolished in 1968 and replaced by the short-lived County Borough of Teesside from 1968 to 1974. Under the Local Government Act 1972 a new non-metropolitan district called Stockton-on-Tees was established, with a larger territory than the pre-1968 borough. County-level services were provided by Cleveland County Council until its abolition in 1996, when Stockton-on-Tees became a unitary authority. The way this change

3135-536: Was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Stockton-on-Tees covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. At the same time, the borough was declared to straddle County Durham (north of the River Tees) and North Yorkshire (south of the river) for ceremonial purposes. The local authority derives its powers and functions from

3192-652: Was said that the borough only covered a quarter of the urban area. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how many boroughs operated across the country. The borough was then administered by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Stockton", generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. The boundaries were extended on several occasions, notably in 1852, 1889 and 1913 (in which year it gained Norton and Hartburn ). That council

3249-420: Was superseded by the changes made by the Localism Act 2011 and the renewed availability of the committee system to all local authorities. Under the Localism Act 2011, principal authorities (such as unitary authorities, county councils, and district councils) were allowed to return to decision-making by committees, the method of local government administration for all councils prior to 2000. Under this model power

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