Structure of local government

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Local authorities (LAs) are corporations, created by Parliament as single legal entities. LAs may only do what Parliament said they could do in the statute under which they were established, under statutes adding to their purpose, or using the General Power of Competence, see further Practice Note: General power of competence.

Systems of local authorities

There are two main models of how LAs are organised, one-tier and two-tier systems. There have been several reforms leading to different arrangements in different areas.

Across much of England, there are two-tier systems of LA with responsibility for provision of services split between very broadly as below:

  1. •

    a county council responsible for education, highways, social services and waste disposal

  2. •

    a district council responsible for more local services such as rubbish collection, housing and planning applications

Its larger towns and cities, however, generally have one tier: a unitary or metropolitan council. A unitary authority will provide all local government services in their area.

Some LAs share services covering a wider area, such as police, fire services or public transport, usually for efficiency reasons or to avoid

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