Government policy by Sinead https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464 County Council en-us 2017-10-30 11:44:03 UTC 2017-10-30 14:33:16 UTC hello@padlet.com what is a county council https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201686686 A county council is the elected governing body of an area known as a county. They are responsible for services across the whole of a county like: education, transport, planning, fire service and public safety, social care, libraries, waste management, trading standards.]]> 2017-10-30 12:48:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201686686 funding https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201687096 Local councils have four main sources of funding:
Central government grants
Business rates
Council tax
Fees and charges
]]> 2017-10-30 12:49:42 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201687096 elections https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201689139  Local councillors are elected for 4-year terms by the local community to represent its views. All local councillors have to declare any interests, gifts or hospitality they get that could influence decisions they make.]]> 2017-10-30 12:54:00 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201689139 county councils explained https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201701038 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRAvIm3qK2w]]> 2017-10-30 13:20:02 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201701038 central government rates https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201716415 Central government grants for local councils are set each financial year in an annual funding round. Since 2010, grants have been cut dramatically by 37% across England between 2010 and 2015.

]]> 2017-10-30 13:48:55 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201716415 business rates https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201717232  Business Rates are a tax on business properties. The tax is set by the government and business rates collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services.
Since 2013, councils have been allowed to keep half of the money gathered through business rates in their area. The idea of this change was to give councils an incentive to encourage new businesses to set up locally.

]]> 2017-10-30 13:50:34 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201717232 council tax https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201717956 Everyone will pay council tax and the amount of council tax you pay will increase and decrease depending on the value of your property. Council tax is paid on 10 out of 12 months of the year.
Since 2012, councils have not been able to raise council tax by more than a set level each year without a referendum approving the rise. In the last three years this level has been 2%.

]]> 2017-10-30 13:52:02 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201717956 fees and charges https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201719183 Fees and charges can be put on a large number of local council services. Some fee levels are fixed by the government such as planning and licensing fees whilst councils have control over others, such as parking charges and leisure centre charges.

]]> 2017-10-30 13:54:27 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201719183 how do councils spend their money? https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201720934 Most of the money from these four sources is brought together into a single funding pool and can be spent as the council wishes, and is mostly used on things that will help improve the area.

]]> 2017-10-30 13:57:50 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201720934 accounts https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201734914 councils must publish their accounts to the public so people can review their spending ]]> 2017-10-30 14:22:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sinead_053/chcpmf8jt464/wish/201734914