Local Government and Local Services
Who runs your local area, and who pays for it? Learn the difference between councillors and officers, the services councils provide, and how councils are funded.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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Who runs your local area?
Local councils run many everyday services in your area, from schools to bin collections. This module covers who runs them (councillors and officers) and how they are paid for.
Key terms
Learn these before you begin:
Match each term to its definition
- Councillor
- Officer
- Council tax
- Business rates
- An elected member who represents the community
- A paid employee who delivers services
- A charge paid by households on their home
- A charge paid by businesses on their premises
What is a councillor?
Who are local councillors?
- Elected representatives chosen by local voters
- Paid officials appointed to run departments
- Judges who decide local court cases
- Volunteers with no role in decisions
What councils provide
Local councils provide many services for their area. These typically include schools and education, social care, waste collection and recycling, road maintenance, libraries, parks, planning decisions and housing. Not every public service is run by the council, but many everyday ones are.
Council services
Select the TWO services a local council typically provides.
- Waste collection and recycling
- Maintaining local roads and street lighting
- Running the national armed forces
- Setting national income tax rates
Match each funding source to its detail
- Council tax
- Business rates
- Government grants
- Charges and fees
- Paid by households, based on home value
- Paid by businesses on their premises
- Money given by central government
- Income from things like parking and leisure centres
What is an officer?
What is the role of a council officer?
- A paid employee who carries out decisions and delivers services
- An elected politician who sets council policy
- A resident who votes in local elections
- A national government minister
The local democracy chain
Put the chain of local democracy in the order it works.
- Local residents elect councillors
- Councillors set the council's priorities and policies
- Officers carry out the decisions and deliver services
- Residents receive local services
How councils are funded
Local councils are funded in several ways. Households pay _____, based on the value of their home. Businesses pay _____ on their premises. Councils also receive _____ from central government, and earn income from _____ such as parking.
Councillors and officers
Councillors and officers do different jobs. Councillors are elected and decide what the council should do, setting priorities on behalf of residents. Officers are employed, not elected, and carry out those decisions by running the services. Together they let local democracy work.
Who does what?
Decide who is responsible, or which funding source applies.
- Deciding the council's priorities for the year is the job of...
- Managing the day-to-day running of a library is the job of...
- A household bill based on the property band of a home is...
Explain local government
Explain the difference between a councillor and an officer, and describe one way a local council is funded.
- Say what a councillor is and does
- Say what an officer is and does
- Name and describe one way councils are funded