Public Affairs

So for our second semester we have been introduced to Public Affairs, immediately I turned my nose up believing the concept to be dull and for a more mature audience. When I think of a council meeting I imagine a group of older people discussing quite boring issues such as car parking, market space and dustbins not being collected. For once I am right however I did not expect such a feisty debate to occur between the council members, quite the entertainment I have heard.

Some basic principles to begin our semester with;

The county council are the most powerful.

Chris Huhne was the MP for Eastleigh. Hampshire county council control 1.8 billion.

Chris Huhne has recently been charged for perverting the course of justice over a 2003 speeding penalty fine. He has now resigned as cabinet minister even though he is claiming to be innocent. If he is charged as guilty it will be impossible for him to regain his position as MP for Eastleigh. To find out more here is the story; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16866127

Steve Brian is Winchesters local MP, he is a national politician who represents us in parliament, however he has no control on what happens in the council.

Winchester city council control 12 million.

Unitary authority are single tier councils, Southampton is an example of this. Two tier systems are for district councils such as Winchester City.

The MP is completely separate from the council and the court.

More than two million people are employed by local authorities. These can include; school teachers, social services, the police, firefighters and many other office and manual workers. The local authority spending in England is approximately £133 billion a year, with education as the largest locally provided service.

Funding

Local authorities are funded by a combination of grants from a central government as well as council taxes and business rates.

Council tax provides only about a quarter of local funding. Local authorities set the total council tax they need to raise based on their overall budget.

Councillors

Councillors are responsible for making decisions on behalf of their local community about local services such as land use, refuse collection and leisure facilities. They agree the local authority budget and set the policy framework, as well as appointing chief officers to make the constitutional decisions.

Councillors are elected by local people for a time frame of around four years.