The Present Structure of Local Government in Great Britain

1. Despite attempts to standardize the system, the structure of local government still varies from one part of the country to another, reflecting the many historical developments the system has gone through. Within England and Wales there are twotypes of structure, one which applies to London and the six other large cities, and another which applies to the rest of England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own systems, although the differences are superficial. In Wales and England except the biggest cities, local government operates at two levels, or tiers, called county councils and district councils.

2. County councils provide major services such as schools, social services, planning at county level, controlling highways and traffic, organizing rubbishdisposal, the police and the fire brigade, collection of council tax, buildingregulations, safety in public, leisure and recreation - all functions that cover largeareas or need substantial amounts of money.

3. District councils provide services that cover a smaller area, where local knowledge and control are important. These include housing, rubbish collection, sports facilities, local planning and public health.

4. Parish councils have limited functions. What they do is a matter of local arrangement and convention between the parish and the district. Parishes (England) or communities (Scotland and Wales) have no legal powers but are recognized asneighborhood or village- level forums of discussion. In some places the parish may be responsible for providing street lighting. In others, the district council controls this. Parish councils are only involved in small scale local activities, as they have very small budgets.

5. The system in the larger cities is different. London consists of 32 units called boroughs, and a special area called the City of London. The City of London covers thearea of London within its ancient boundaries and is an independent unit. Most of the London boroughs have a population of between 150,000 and 300,000 people and their councils run all the services in the area. A few services, such as transport and the police, are excluded as they concern the whole of the capital city.

6. The other large cities of England - Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield - have similar systems. These cities have one borough for the central city and other boroughs for the areas around this. These borough councils run all the services except things such as the police, which are run by agencies for the whole area.

 

LEXIS

attempt - попытка; проба; опыт

vary - разниться; отличаться, различаться, расходиться

development - обстоятельство; событие

apply to - касаться, относиться; применяться

the rest of – остальная, оставшаяся часть

superficial - внешний, неглубокий, поверхностный; кажущийся, мнимый

level - уровень

tier – уровень; ряд; ярус

county council — совет графства, округа

district - район; округ

district council - окружной совет

provide - предоставлять; обеспечивать

major service - основное обслуживание

social services - система социального обеспечения, социальное обеспечение, общественные учреждения

rubbish disposal – устранение, вывоз мусора

fire brigade - пожарная команда

council tax - муниципальный налог (взимается с домовладельцев или арендаторов дома, квартиры

building regulations - строительные нормы и правила

leisure - досуг, свободное время

recreation - отдых

cover - включать, содержать, охватывать; относиться (к чему-л.)

rubbish collection – сбор мусорных отходов

sport facilities - спортивные сооружения

public health - здравоохранение

parish - приход

parish council - совет прихода

arrangement - договоренность, соглашение

сonvention - соглашение, договоренность, договор

community - местное сообщество; община

forum of discussion - заседание, конференция, собрание, форум

small scale - мелкомасштабный, мелкий; небольшой

unit - единица

borough - городок, небольшой город

the City — Сити, деловой центр Лондона

boundary - граница

exclude - исключать

area - район, область, зона

 

5.16. FORMATION

• develop,     developments, developed, developing, developer, developable, development, developmental, underdeveloped, undeveloped, non-developable;
• level, leveled, leveller, levelling, levelizing, levelization;
• standard, standards, non-standard, standardize, standardized, standardized, standardizing, standardizer, standardizated, standardization;
• vary, variable, variably, variability, variate, variance, variation, variations, variational, various, variously, variety, varied, unvaried, unvariable, non-variable, variegate, variegated, variegation, variform, varicoloured.

 

5.17. QUESTIONS

1. What characterizes the system of local government in Great Britain?

2. What types of local government structure are there in Great Britain?

3. What are the functions of county councils?

4. What are district councils responsible for?

5. What do parish councils deal with?

6. How is the system different in the larger cities?

 

5.18. AGREE OR DISAGREE

1. Within England and Wales there are three types of local government structure.

2. The systems of Northern Ireland and Scotland are only slightly different from those of England and Wales.

3. County councils have very substantial budgets.

4. The system in the larger cities is practically the same.

5. London consists of 45 boroughs, with a population of between 150,000 and 300,000 people, and a special area called the City of London.

6. Borough councils run all the services in the area, including transport and

7. the police.

8. The other large cities of England have only one borough. Its council runs all the services.

 

5.19. SAY WHAT YOU KNOW about the following people working for different local government bodies: a councilor, a local government official, a chairman, a mayor, a provost? Which of them are elected and which are appointed? Which are paid and which give their services free?

 

SCANNING