5123235
Descripción
Fichas por Nick Drewe, actualizado hace más de 1 año
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Creado por Nick Drewe
hace más de 8 años
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| Pregunta | Respuesta |
| The majority party in a local election is called? | 'The Authority' |
| What are the three single tier structures? | Unitary Authority Cosmopolitan Authority London Borough |
| What does a two tier local government consist of? | County Council District Council (sometimes) Parish Council |
| How many London Boroughs are there? | 32 |
| How many elected councils are in a single tier system? | One all-purpose elected council |
| What services does a unitary council cover (name five) | Education, highways, transport planning, social care, housing, libraries, leisure and recreation, environmental health, waste collection, waste disposal, planning applications, strategic planning and local tax collection |
| What is the name of London's separate government? | The Greater London Authority (GLA) |
| What public services are the county council in charge of providing and monitoring? (name 5) | Education, highways, transport planning, social care, libraries, waste disposal and strategic planning. |
| What localised services are the district council in charge of providing and monitoring? (name 5) | Housing, leisure and recreation, environmental health, waste collection, planning applications and local tax collection. |
| What political problems do two tier councils encounter? | The county and district councils are elected separately so may be two different parties. They still have to work together. |
| What are town / parish councils responsible for? | Parks, community centres, allotments, war memorials |
| What are the +/- of a two tier system? | + Closer link to the people so can provide them with what they need. - Overlapping of services confuses public as to where accountability lies. |
| What are the +/- of a unitary system? | + No overlap of services makes for clear accountability and more cost effectiveness. - Remote from the community, do not know what the people need as much. |
| Who aids the Members of the Council in their decisions? | The Officers |
| What is the role of an Officer? | An officer is appointed as an occupation to advise councillors in their decisions without political affiliation. They are experts in their departmental field (like finance or planning). |
| What is a council department director? | The most senior officer. They are not councillors; they do all the leg work for the officers. |
| What are the three job roles of a councillor? | Politician - works for positive social change and public service. Representative of ward - one of three councillors per ward to speak for their people. Board member - share responsibility with the rest of the council for actions. |
| Name a third party that inspects local government | Ofsted |
| What information does a council have to disclose? | - Performance data - Accounts - Spending on goods / services >£500 - Senior salaries, names, jobs, allowances |
| What allowances do councillors receive? | - Basic Allowance - Special Responsibility Allowance - Dependents & Child Care Allowance - Travel & Subsistence |
| What does a Basic Allowance cover and how is it set? | Costs incurred during constituency duties, attending and preparing for related meetings, political group meetings' costs, telephone, postage and travelling costs. It's a flat rate annual amount. |
| What does a Special Responsibility Allowance cover and how is it set? | For councillors who hold greater responsibility, have the heaviest workloads and are in leading roles. The allowance varies depending on the level of responsibility. |
| What does a Dependents & Childcare Allowance cover? | For councillors who have to pay for care for dependents or children so as to be able to attend to council business. |
| What does a Travel & Subsistence Allowance cover and how is it set? | Covers all travel to associated council business, including food (people may travel from work to fulfil council obligations). Authorities set their own levels of allowance. |
| What is the Independent Remuneration Panel and what flaws are there with it? | Independent, non-council individuals who review and adjudicate and allowance based changes by the council. The council ultimately has the final say, so can simply ignore any objections by the IRP. |
| In what instances can you not stand as a councillor? | If you are bankrupt, have been to prison in the last 5 years or are employed by the council already. |
| Financially, what is a council's Capital fund? | Money for building infrastructure - roads, schools, housing, offices etc. These projects last more than a year. |
| Financially, what is a council's Revenue fund? | Money needed to maintain and operate Capital projects - staffing, lighting, heating etc. These are short term spends that are on an annual basis, not permanent. |
| Where does a council's Revenue money come from? | The council's income: - Grants from central government - Locally raised taxes - Rents, fees and charges from local services - 'balances & reserves' |
| What kinds of Revenue grants are there? | General Revenue Support Grants (RSGs) National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDRs) Specific Police Grant Dedicated Schools Grant |
| What are the two types of taxes given to a council's electorate? | Council Tax (for domestic use properties) NNDR (for business use properties) |
| What groups are applicable for a council tax reduction or exemption? | Single Occupant DISCOUNT Disability DISCOUNT Carers & Full-time Students EXEMPTION |
| Explain Council Tax Banding | Categorising amount of council tax based on notional value. There are 8 bands, from A - H, the latter being the most expensive. Band D is used as a council tax marker as it is the average band. |
| What is the difference between a billing and a precepting authority when describing a council? | A billing authority sends its bills straight to households. A precepting authority instructs the billing authority to collect an amount from council tax on its behalf such as the county council or the police authority. |
| Explain Council Tax Capping | Central Government cap council tax increases to stop councils from over-taxing their electorate. Any changes over +2% will require a referendum to gain support from the electorate. |
| Give examples of how a local authority can further charge for their provided services | Car parking fines Library fines Trade refuse collection Leisure services use |
| What is a capital receipt and what restrictions are there on it? | The selling of an asset (usually land) The money must be spent on other capital projects. A reserve must be kept from the sale to pay off any existing debts. |
| When can Capital money become Revenue money? | When the money comes as interest from an investment. The interest received is considered Revenue money. |
| How and where do councils borrow money for Capital schemes? | They only borrow money they can definitely afford to pay back. This is called a Prudential Framework, which uses Prudential Indicators in budget setting to calculate. Councils mainly borrow from the government financed Public Works Loans Board. |
| How does Revenue money relate to Capital borrowing? | The interest the council has to pay for borrowed money comes out of the Revenue funds, NOT the Capital funds. |
| Explain PFI and PPP | A Public Finance Initiative is a way of funding public infrastructure with private capital. A private company finances the project, thus owning it. The council buy it back over a long-term lease. This is known as a Public Private Partnership. |
| What saying is given to the banned selling of capital items for revenue money? | "Selling off the family silver" |
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