Tuesday 30 July 2013

20 differences between a district council and a county council, using examples from councils in Hampshire

District and country councils have many difference within the United Kingdom. County councils often cover a population of roughly 500,000 to one and half million whereas district councils is much less, covering roughly a population of 100,000. However, although district councils cover less of a population than a county council, in each county council there is around four-14 district councils.

In the early 90s, the local government system in England was revised and so came about the single and two-teir system. The two-tier system represents a city and is divided into a district and county council. Single tier councils are unitary authorities with have the combined powers of district and county council. For example, Hampshire is a county council, a unitary authority in Hampshire is Portsmouth and Southampton and Winchester City Council is a district council.

A county council is made up from elected members from a wide variety of areas across the public sector and sees a vote every four years. Each councillor within the county council represents an electoral ward within the county. From these elected members, a cabinet is drawn up. Unlike district councils, county councils have civil servants. These are members of the council that are permanent fixtures and are not elected in. County councils are responsible for much more wide-spread services such as education, social services and transport. The gross expenditure of Hampshire County Council for 2013/2014 is £1,837.6m. Typically, the is made up from roughly 25% of funding from the British government with the rest of the funding coming from council tax residents pay in Hampshire. Council tax in Hampshire has remained the same cost for four consecutive years and is one of the lowest in the country.

The main responsibilities of a County Council include education, social services, transport, strategic planning, fire services, consumer protection, refuse disposal, smallholdings and libraries. A county council is bound by law to fill all these responsibilities. Share responsibilities between county and district councils include recreation and cultural matters. The current Chairman of Hampshire County Council is Councillor Ken Thornber, and he was elected as Chairman at the Annual County Council Meeting held on 23 May 2013. He usually finalises decisions made within the council.

District councils focus on more specific services in a much smaller district. Winchester City Council deals with responsibilities such as local planning, housing, local highways, building regulation, environmental health and refuse collection Kelsie Learney is the current leader of Winchester City Council as she is the representative for the Liberal Democrats and the Lib Dem party currently hold the majority within Winchester. Their budget in comparison to Hampshire County Council is much smaller, but this is understandable as the responsibilities aren't as great. They look at issues like Housing and Council tax benefits, Council tax collection, Council’s social housing maintenance, recycling and leisure facilities including playgrounds & parks.

It is easier to find information online about Hampshire County Council as it is a council on a much larger scale. It is quite easy to contact members of Winchester City Council and their separate wards to find information but not much can be located online. 

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