Task 1. Read and translate the text.

Th Century

Royal charters, justices of the peace, parish bodies, commissions and benches of citizens. Single purpose bodies provided services like highways, drainage and charitable education.

Early 19th Century

Led to a maze of separate and varied bodies unable to cope with changes in society and the economy as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

19^th century

In 1888 and 1894 legislation created county councils and urban and rural district councils.

Mid 1970s and 1990s

Two major reorganisations led to the creation of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and districts in 1974 in England, and the creation of unitary authorities in England, Scotland and Wales in the 1990s.

Devolution of powers to some regional territories. Legislation in 1998 established the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Greater London Authority Act created the Greater London Assembly and a directly elected mayor for London.

Elected Regional Assemblies. Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003. The first referendum was held in the North East of England on 4 November.

Comprehension

Task 2. Enumerate the stages of the historical development of local government in the U.K. Which of these steps do you consider the most important?

 

Text 2

Local government structure

Vocabulary

one-tier – одноуровневый

two-tier – двухуровневый

county council – орган местного самоуправления в графстве

district council – орган местного самоуправления в районе

leisure facilities – возможности для проведения досуга

recycling – переработка

trash – мусор

borough – округ

unitary authority – унитарный орган управления

to reduce – сокращать

to simplify – упрощать

parish – округ, приход

community – общность, община, сообщество

allotment – распределение, назначение

to split up – раскалывать

to maintain – поддерживать

 

Reading Practice

Task 1. Scan the text and try to presuppose its main idea.

Task 2. Read and translate the text.

Across the country, local governmental bodies are organised into a mixture of one-tier and two-tier systems. How your local system is arranged will depend upon where a person lives.

 

County and district councils

 

In most of England, there are two levels: a county council and a district council. County councils cover large areas and provide most public services, including schools, social services, and public transportation.

Each county is divided into several districts. District councils cover smaller areas and provide more local services, including council housing, gyms and leisure facilities, local planning, recycling and trash collection. District councils with borough or city status may be called borough councils or city councils instead of district council, but their role is exactly the same.

 

Unitary authorities

In most large towns and cities, and in some small counties, there will be just one level of local government responsible for all local services. These are called a 'unitary authority'. Depending where they are in the country, these may be called metropolitan district councils, borough councils, city councils, county councils, or district councils.

In London, each borough is a unitary authority, but the Greater London Authority (the Mayor and Assembly) provides London-wide government with responsibility for certain services like transport and police.

In April 2009, the government introduced unitary governments in seven regions in England; reducing 44 local authorities down to just nine. The idea was to simplify the system, as local residents were increasingly confused about which local authority was responsible for local services.

In Scotland there is a unitary system with one level of local government. In Northern Ireland, there are local councils, but most services are carried out by other organisations.

 

Town and parish councils

 

In some parts of England there are also town and parish councils, covering a smaller area. In Wales, they are called community councils.

They're responsible for services like allotments, public toilets, parks and ponds, war memorials, and local halls and community centres. They are sometimes described as the third tier of local government.

In Scotland there are community councils with fewer powers. There is no equivalent in Northern Ireland.

 

Joint services

 

Some local authorities share services covering a wider area, like police, fire services and public transport. This may be done to avoid splitting up services when council structures are changed, or because some councils are too small to run an effective service on their own.

Every part of the UK is covered by a local authority fire and rescue service. Each of the 59 fire authorities must by law provide a firefighting service and must maintain a brigade to meet all normal requirements. Each fire authority appoints a Chief Fire Officer, or Firemaster in Scotland, who has day-to-day control of operations.

 

Comprehension