30 Apr 2007


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Contact your local council: Talking Retail's how to guide

Wherever you live, in London, the counties or a metropolitan area, you will be covered by different levels of government. These different councils are explained.

Wherever you live, in London, the counties or a metropolitan area, you will be covered by different levels of government.

Before you can find the right person you need to identify which councils cover your area and which of them have jurisdiction over the problem you are facing.

It is important to understand the role of each council.

The London boroughs and the metropolitan councils are similar because they are allpurpose councils. They cover everything from social services, education, planning and roads to trading standards, environmental health and housing. For businesses covered by these councils, there is no option but to contact that one council. The counties are different as they have three tiers of government - county councils, district councils and in some areas, parish councils:
The county council has responsibility for areas such as fire, police, education, social services and roads.
The district council, as a separate organisation, looks after those things which affect business on the local level such as planning, environmental issues, refuge disposal, leisure and housing.
The parish council is the third but less significant authority that is more concerned with such matters as footpaths, lighting and recreation grounds.

The members of all these councils are elected independently, and none of the councils are responsible to each other. If your business is in the counties first call the district council. Most decisions that affect business are made at local district level. County councils are more concerned with strategic issues affecting a region, and parish councils look after the more mundane, residential matters.

When you know which tier to approach:

look in either the Yellow Pages or the Thompson Local Directories to find out the contact details for the local government offices in your area.
Decide whether you want a councillor or a salaried council officer. Both have different responsibilities.

The councillor is more of a strategist who represents the people in one of the constituencies (wards) covered by the council. You do not necessarily have to call the councillor who directly represents your ward. You could seek out councillors who have political opinions similar to your own.

Councils are organised into committees - you could try to contact those councillors who are on the committee that is able to discuss your problem.

For administration matters you might first consider the salaried council officer. If the problem is routine or simple, such as the failure to collect refuse from your business, a quick call to the 'Engineering Services' or 'Works' department in the district council could resolve the problem.

Policy Matters
Where the problem is more policy oriented such as an alteration to your premises you will be referred to councillors and the planning committee.

If you cannot work out which official to call try the office of the Chief Executive of the council. Being the most senior official this office will know who to pass the matter on to.

When it comes to complaining about a councillor or a council official, ombudsmen are useful contacts. More properly called Commissioners for Local Administration, ombudsmen are only concerned with maladministration. They will only look at situations where administrative decisions or actions of councillors and officials are wrong.

They will not intervene in matters of policy or party politics.

For example if you suspect a councillor or official has ruled against your planning application because he has a financial interest in the outcome, you would have grounds for complaint.

Commissioners for Local Administration:

England:
21 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9BU

Wales:
Derwen House, Court Road, Bridgend CF31 1BN

Scotland:
5 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RG

Right to Appeal
There are some decisions made by councils that can be appealed against either in courts or in tribunals. In a few cases, you might be able to go to a central government minister.

A good example of this right of appeal relates to planning applications. If you disagree with a decision you can go all the way to the Secretary of State for the Environment.

How to Contact a Councillor
Call the council offices and ask for the department that looks after councillor affairs.

They can supply the names and addresses of the councillors currently in office, together with the composition of each of the committees.

The best way to make contact is to write a clear and concise letter to the person that you want to reach. Try to set out the facts and the outcome you are seeking. It should be written so that the councillor can pass it on with a covering letter and comments. Avoid using abusive language. To speed things up you should quote any references or names and addresses of officials with whom you have been dealing.

If there are any documents that might be useful, you could send a copy so long as it is not bulky.

If you want to speak directly to the councillors, then it is usual to telephone them at home. Surgeries are another method of speaking to councillors but they are not in use uniformly across all councils. The party offices, councils and local papers will be able to tell you when surgeries are being held next.

Your local Chamber of Commerce should have good links with local government through regular joint meetings.

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