What do Councils do?

Councils have a unique responsibility for shaping and improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of the areas they represent.

This includes your local council being responsible for running the vital services that you use every day. Everything from collecting the rubbish you throw away to the leisure centre gym that you work out in.

They may also repair local roads, employ teachers, house vulnerable people in care homes, run art galleries and museums, rule on and enforce planning applications.

They also work hard to improve and maintain public areas, such as parks, and at ensuring environmental health standards are at a high standard. For example, inspecting restaurants to make sure they are clean and safe places to prepare and serve food.

There are a total of 25 councils in the North East. These consist of ten unitary councils, two county councils and 13 district councils.

Collectively, local councils are the North East's largest employer, with more than 100,000 people working for them.

It’s likely that you've got a friend or relative who works for one. This means there’s a massive range of career options available, more than 600 according to some experts!

So the chances are there’s a career that would suit you down to the ground.

How does a council work?

At the heart of your local council are councillors elected by the public who represent different political parties.

Councillors represent the interests of their constituents and make sure the council does what the people want it to do.

The political party which has the most elected councillors (also known as Members) usually leads the council in deciding on its priorities and budget, as well as agreeing the political leadership of the council.

Councils can be divided down into individual groups called committees - for example the development control committee might look at individual planning applications - and an Executive made up of councillors from the controlling Party.

Officers carry out the priorities set by councillors as well as a number of services that councils have to perform by law. This includes meeting targets set by either the council or government in London.

The officers, who are “public servants”, also offer advice to councillors.

Who pays for all this?

Local government spends £70bn every year on providing services like social work or collecting rubbish from bins. In the North East, councils spend over £8bn per year.

This comprises of:-

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT grants from London - (about 48%)

BUSINESS RATES taxes paid by companies and shops - (25%)

COUNCIL TAX taxes paid by local residents - (about 25%)

THE REST - for example car parks or gym membership

Staff who work for councils often have to provide services on a very tight budget with no cash to waste. As public money is used to pay for the council to run its services, the way in which the cash is spent must offer value for money and be fully accounted for.

Facts and figures

Local councils are the North East's biggest employer, with more than 100,000 people working for them.

There are 25 councils in the North East.

There are over 11 000 town, parish and community councils.

Local councils spend over £70bn a year. In the North East, councils spend around £8bn.

Local government employs more than two million people across the country.

There are over 21,000 democratically elected local councillors (Members) in England and Wales. There are around 1,200 councillors in the North East.