MPs, MEPs and district/borough/parish councillors

Government in the United Kingdom is provided at two levels, national and local.

Central Government

At a national level, the country is divided into Parliamentary Constituencies and electors in each area vote for a Member of Parliament (MP) to sit in the House of Commons and represent them. 

Find out who the MPs for Staffordshire are.

More information about Parliament responsibilities, including contact details for Members of Parliament are available from the Parliament website.

Central Government's responsibilities include:

• setting and collecting all taxes, except council tax
• the National Health Service
• state benefits such as unemployment benefit, tax credits and state pensions
• making and reviewing UK law
• the Country's security

MEPs

What is an MEP?

An MEP is a Member of the European Parliament. Just like councillors and MPs, they represent local people, this time within the European Parliament. They have an important say in a wide range of laws affecting people who live in the countries of the European Union (EU). They also deal with the EU budgets which support many projects in the County and have an important role in overseeing how taxpayers' money is spent by the institutions of the EU.
Elections for the European Parliament are held every five years.  The next election will be held in 2009.

Find out who the MEPs for Staffordshire are.

Local Government

At local level, the country is divided into a series of local authorities or councils.  Councils provide services in their local area.  Voters in each area (electoral divisions) elect people to sit on the Council and represent them.  District Council elections are held every 4 years, with the next elections due in May 2011.  Some Borough Councils, such as Cannock, Newcastle and Tamworth have different election arrangements.  County Council elections are held every 4 years and their next elections are in May 2009. 

Councils provide services in their local area.  In Staffordshire, some of these services are provided by Borough and District Councils but most are provided by the County Council.  Services provided by Staffordshire County Council include

• education
• social services
• roads and transport
• waste disposal
• economic development
• countywide planning and the environment
• protecting the public
• libraries

District and Borough Councils

District and Borough Councils provide many services, including:

• refuse collection and recycling
• environmental health
• leisure and amenities
• planning permission and building control
• collection of Council Tax
• licensing

The other 8 Borough and District Councils in Staffordshire are:

• Cannock Chase District Council
• East Staffordshire Borough Council
• Lichfield District Council
• Newcastle Borough Council
• South Staffordshire District Council
• Stafford Borough Council
• Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
• Tamworth Borough Council

Parish and Town Councils

At a more local level there are 179 Parish and Town Councils in Staffordshire.   These councils have parish councillors who are elected every four years.  Usually elections are held at the same time as district/borough elections.  Services that Parish and Town Councils may provide include:

• allotments
• bus shelters
• cemeteries
• children's play grounds
• grants for local projects / organisations
• halls for social clubs and meetings
• parish lighting
• recreational / sports fields
• traffic calming measures
• war memorial maintenance

 

Last Modified: 25/04/2008 15:02:59
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