Suffolk County Council

Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 72 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. In September 2010, the council announced that it would seek to outsource a number of its services, in an attempt to cut its own budget by 30%.^[1]

Responsibilities

Suffolk County Council is responsible for major services which are provided countywide. These include:

• Business and trading standards: enforcing fair trading laws, protecting consumers and giving advice.
• Education and learning: schools, evening classes for adults, youth clubs and higher education grants.
• Environment: conservation of the countryside and public access to it, waste disposal and archaeological services.
• Leisure and culture: library services, archives and support for arts and museums.
• Public safety: fire fighting, rescue and emergency services, safety advice.
• Registration of births, marriages and deaths.
• Social care: care for older people who are physically or mentally infirm, or have a mental health problem, those with physical or learning disabilities and children and families who need protection and support.
• Transport and streets: maintaining and improving Suffolk's roads, footpaths and public rights of way, road safety, public transport co-ordination.

Shared services

Responsibility for some services is shared between the county council and borough, district and parish councils in Suffolk, including:

• Conservation
• Economic promotion
• Emergency planning
• Museums and the arts
• Public transport
• Street cleaning
• Tourism

Elections

The council is run by a Conservative majority. The last election was held on 4 June 2009. Previous elections include:

• Suffolk County Council election, 2009
• Suffolk County Council election, 2005
• Suffolk County Council election, 2001

Controversy

In 2011 controversy surrounding the CEO Andrea Hill featured in local and national press (including £122,000 spent on management consultants^[2]), leading to her disciplinary hearing and resignation^[3].

References

1. ^ "Suffolk County Council to outsource most services". BBC News. 2010-09-23. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11398678. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ "Council chief Andrea Hill quits Suffolk Council". BBC News. 2011-07-06. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14038222. 

External links

• Suffolk County Council