Leicestershire County Council
| Leicestershire County Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type |
Non-metropolitan county council of Leicestershire |
| Leadership | |
Leader |
Nick Rushton, Conservative |
| Seats | 55 |
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 June 2009 |
Next election | 2 May 2013 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| County Hall, Glenfield, Leicestershire | |
| Website | |
| http://www.leicestershire.gov.uk | |
Leicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a total of 55 councillors. The council is controlled by the Conservative Party. The leader of the county council is currently Nick Rushton, who was elected to the post in September 2012. The headquarters of the council is County Hall at Glenfield, just outside the city of Leicester.
History
From its establishment in 1889 to 1974 the county council covered the administrative county of Leicestershire, excluding Leicester. In 1974 the Local Government Act reconstituted Leicestershire County Council, adding the former county borough of Leicester, and the small county of Rutland to the area. On 1 April 1997 these were removed from the County Council area again, to become unitary authorities.
Districts and Boroughs
Leicestershire has three tiers of local government. These tiers are the county council, seven district or borough councils and parish councils all of which charge a mandatory tax in return for a service. In urban areas the work of the parish council is likely to be undertaken by the county or district council. The seven district councils in Leicestershire are:[1]
- Blaby District Council
- Charnwood Borough Council
- Harborough District Council
- Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council
- Melton Borough Council
- North West Leicestershire District Council
- Oadby & Wigston Borough Council
These district councils are responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism[2]
They leave the subjects of education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport policy, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning for Leicestershire to the County Council.[2]
Political control
Leicestershire County Council consists of 55 elected members, from 52 wards. The most recent election was the June 2009 elections, where all seats were up for re-election. Following these elections, and with subsequent defections [3][4][5] and by-elections,[6] the current political composition of the council is as follows.
| Party | Councillors |
|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 33 |
| Liberal Democrats | 14 |
| Labour Party | 4 |
| UKIP | 2 |
| Independent | 2 |
Elections were held for the reconstituted county council (including Leicester and Rutland) in 1973, leading to no overall control. 1977 saw the Conservative Party take control, but they lost it again in 1981. Elections in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 1997 continued No Overall Control. The Conservatives took control in 2001, helped in part by the removal of the strongly Labour-voting Leicester from the county.[7]
Departments
There are five departments:
- Corporate Resources (including property, finance, HR, communications, country parks and traded services)
- Environment and Transport (including highways, transport and waste)
- Adults and Communities (including adult social care, museums, libraries and adult learning)
- Children and Young People's Services (including children's social care and school support)
- Chief Executive's (including policy, democratic services, supporting Leicestershire families, youth offending service, trading standards, registration services, planning, legal services)
Increasingly governance is breaking away from the departmental structure and becoming programme-based. There are currently six major programmes:
- Organisational Efficiency (mostly financial projects)
- People and Performance (human resources)
- Customer First (service shops and call centres)
- Work Well (mobile and flexible working)
- Highways Service Efficiency
- Waste Strategy
Electoral divisions
| Electoral division | Councillors |
|---|---|
| Blaby and Glen Parva | 1 |
| Braunstone Town | 1 |
| Cosby and Countesthorpe | 1 |
| Enderby Meridian | 1 |
| Glenfields | 1 |
| Kirby Muxloe and Leicester Forest East | 1 |
| Narborough and Whetstone | 1 |
| Stanton Croft and Normanton | 1 |
| Birstall | 1 |
| Bradgate | 1 |
| Loughborough East | 1 |
| Loughborough North | 1 |
| Loughborough North West | 1 |
| Loughborough South | 1 |
| Loughborough South West | 1 |
| Quorn and Barrow[8] | 1 |
| Rothley and Mountsorrel | 1 |
| Shepshed | 1 |
| Sileby and The Wolds[9] | 1 |
| Syston Fosse | 1 |
| Syston Ridgeway | 1 |
| Thurmaston | 1 |
| Broughton Astley | 1 |
| Bruntingthorpe | 1 |
| Gartree | 1 |
| Launde | 1 |
| Lutterworth | 1 |
| Market Harborough East | 1 |
| Market Harborough West and Foxton | 1 |
| Burbage Castle | 2 |
| Earl Shilton | 1 |
| Groby and Ratby | 1 |
| Hinckley | 2 |
| Mallory | 1 |
| Market Bosworth | 1 |
| Markfield Desford and Thornton | 1 |
| Asfordby | 1 |
| Belvoir | 1 |
| Melton North | 1 |
| Melton South | 1 |
| Ashby de la Zouch | 1 |
| Castle Donington | 1 |
| Coalville | 1 |
| Forest and Measham | 1 |
| Ibstock and Appleby[10] | 1 |
| Valley | 1 |
| Warren Hills | 1 |
| Whitwick | 1 |
| Oadby | 2 |
| Wigston Bushloe | 1 |
| Wigston Poplars | 1 |
| Wigston South | 1 |
See also
References
- ↑ Leicestershire County Council site
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Local Channel accessed 20 June 2007
- ↑ http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/your_council/local_democracy/aboutthecountycouncil/useyourvote/election_results/election_2009.htm
- ↑ http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Tory-Leicestershire-county-councillor-David/story-18324867-detail/story.html#axzz2Mh5qyUC9
- ↑ http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Leicestershire-County-Councillor-Rob-Fraser-joins/story-18324974-detail/story.html#axzz2Mh5qyUC9
- ↑ http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/your_council/local_democracy/aboutthecountycouncil/useyourvote/election_results/systonridgewaybyelection.htm
- ↑ Local election results: Leicestershire, BBC, May 2005 accessed June 2007
- ↑ linked to Barrow upon Soar
- ↑ Linked to Burton on the wolds
- ↑ Linked to major village of Appleby Magna