Students have a right to a better experience and students’ issues stretch far beyond educational content and standards.
Local Councils
Councils are responsible for providing local services and facilities. Your elected representatives, or councillors, also represent you at a local level making decisions on behalf of you about local services such as land use, refuse collection and leisure facilities.
Depending on where you live, your council is responsible for some or all of the following areas:
- Housing
- Environmental health
- Leisure and recreation facilities
- Libraries
- Local planning
- Local transport
- Parks and public places
- Roads and footpaths
- Social services
- Waste and recycling
Students as members of the local community are affected by many of the decisions made by local council.
Transport
Councils have a range of transport responsibilities within their local areas from traffic regulation to residential car parking, to road safety and provision of concessionary bus passes. Local authorities are also involved in developing cycle ways and improving public footpaths and rights of way and work alongside bus and rail companies to improve their local public transport networks.
Community safety and crime reduction
Councils work closely with the police to reduce levels of crime and disorder in their communities and enhance the local environment. They consider the crime and disorder implications of every policy and operational decision made by the authority. Many councils employ different types of community wardens who work alongside the police in their local areas. In addition, they work closely with the police and fire services to develop community initiatives, particularly with schools, universities and young people. Crime is tackled in every local area by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs).
Arts, sports and culture
Councils have wide-ranging involvement in the cultural provision of their local communities. In particular they are responsible for local libraries, the management of entertainment venues and the coordination and promotion of a variety and events and leisure activities in their local area.
Environment
Local councils have a number of responsibilities surrounding the sustainability and improvement of their local environment. They oversee a range of activities such as street cleaning, household refuse collection, waste management, recycling schemes and street scene maintenance.
Planning and regulation
Councils have different levels of responsibilities. They deal mainly with planning applications and enquiries and will guide development in accordance with the local development plan and framework. Councils receive many types of planning applications, which range from listed building and conservation area consents, to permissions to display advertisements. Councils also have regulatory responsibilities, such as trading standards and environmental health.
Housing
Local authorities are expected to draw up strategies for all housing in their areas, based on proper assessments of need and to make the best use of all the resources available in the light of local circumstances. They are responsible for the maintenance, improvement and development of housing in their local area and are also responsible for grants available to older homes, helping to adapt the homes of elderly and disabled people and funding housing associations to build new housing.
Social services and health
Local authorities provide a range of care and support services to children, families and vulnerable adults, in particular they provide support for older people, adults with physical or learning disabilities or mental health needs and carers.
Education and lifelong learning
All county councils and unitary authorities have a major role to support school improvement and a responsibility for schools and education services in their areas. This can range from the provision of adult education services, to play schemes, pupil referral centres and educational psychologists.
Find out your local authority.