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Local Government Responsibilities
Parish, community and town councils (Burstow Parish Council)
The first tier of Government. These operate at a level below district and borough councils and in some cases, unitary authorities.
They are democratically elected and can help on a number of local issues, such as 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
District, borough and city councils (Tandridge District Council)
These cover a smaller area than county councils. Tandridge District Council covers 21 parish or village councils.
They are usually responsible for services like:
- rubbish collection
- recycling
- Council Tax collections
- housing
- leisure and recreation
- planning applications
- the district local plan for housing and development
County councils (Surrey County Council)
Surrey County Council covers 11 district and borough councils.
These are responsible for services across the whole of a county, such as:
- education
- highways – non-trunk roads
- transport planning
- passenger transport
- strategic planning
- fire and public safety
- social care
- libraries
- waste management
- trading standards
Unitary councils (Listed here for completeness)
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
As of April 2021, there are 339 local authorities in England, of which 25 are county councils, 188 are district councils, and 126 are single-tier authorities. [Source – House of Commons Library]