Brief guide to Breckland District Council

National policies are set by central Government, but local councils have a wide range of powers and duties, with responsibility for local matters and delivering day-to-day services. The main link between local authorities and central Government in England is the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for developing national policy on how local government operates and is funded. Other government departments deal with national policy on local services e.g. the Department for Education and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Local Government Structure

Across England, local governmental bodies are arranged into a mixture of one and two-tier systems, with two levels in most of the country but only one level in some areas which is responsible for the provision of all local services; these are known as unitary authorities. Norfolk is administered by Norfolk County Council, which is the top tier local government authority, based at County Hall in Norwich.

Below Norfolk County Council, the county is divided into seven second tier district councils: Breckland District, Broadland District, Great Yarmouth Borough, King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough, North Norfolk District, Norwich City and South Norfolk District.

Below the second-tier councils the majority of the County is divided into Parish and Town Councils the lowest tier of local government (the only exceptions being parts of Norwich and Kings Lynn urban areas).

In London, each borough is a unitary authority, but the Greater London Authority (i.e. the Mayor and Assembly) is responsible for certain services like police and transport.

Town and Parish Councils

In some parts of England, there are also town and parish councils, which are sometimes described as the third tier of local government. Parish councils are currently responsible for a limited number of services such as bus shelters, footpaths, recreation facilities, public toilets, drainage, etc. Parish councillors are elected for a period of four years.

Funding for parish councils comes partially from residents and is taken from the area's Council Tax in the form of an annual precept. An amount based on the income and expenditure forecast for the next financial year is added to the local Council Tax and then returned to parishes.

Save for some councillor conduct and elections issues, Town and parish councils are sovereign bodies and are not accountable to the district or county councils.

Further information about town and parish councils may be found at the websites of the National Association of Local Councils (opens new window)

Functions and duties

Local authorities work within powers laid down under various acts of Parliament.

In the Local Government Act 1972, the Government delegated specific duties to local government, together with the necessary powers to raise some of the money needed to pay for them. These duties are called statutory duties. In addition, there are regulatory services - such as planning applications, alcohol, gambling, and taxi licensing - that councils must provide. Councils also carry out some other duties which are discretionary and therefore non-statutory.