Dorset County Council

Dorset County

Coat of arms

Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Leader
Robert Gould, Conservative Party
Structure
Seats 45
26 / 45
13 / 45
4 / 55
1 / 45
1 / 45
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 2013
Next election
 2017
Meeting place
County Hall, Dorchester
Website
www.dorsetforyou.com

Dorset County Council (DCC) is the county council of Dorset in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council has 45 elected councillors and is based at County Hall in Dorchester.[1]

Political composition

When councillors are elected they represent one of England's major political parties or are "independent". The Conservative Party currently have the highest number of councillors in the chamber. As such, the leader of the cabinet (effective head of the chamber) also represents the Conservative Party and can choose the cabinet members from the Conservative Party as well. The Liberal Democrats have the second highest number of councillors and the final councillor is an independent.

Following the 2013 Local Elections, the Conservatives hold 27 seats, Liberal Democrats 12, Labour 4, and the Green Party 1.[2]

Responsibilities for services

Map of Dorset's six shire districts and two unitary authorities. 1-6 are administered by Dorset County Council, but 7 and 8 are the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth and Poole, which are self-governed on local issues; they are considered part of the ceremonial county of Dorset

Dorset County Council's responsibilities include schools, social care for the elderly and vulnerable, road maintenance, libraries and trading standards.

The county council's area is also administered by six smaller authorities that have their own district or borough councils. The responsibilities of these councils include local planning, council housing, refuse collection, sports and leisure facilities, and street cleaning. The district areas are further divided into civil parishes, which have "parish councils" or "town councils"; the latter of which often use a town hall. Typical activities undertaken by a parish council include maintaining allotments, footpaths, playing fields and the local community or village hall. On some matters, the county council share responsibilities with the district and parish councils. These include economic development and regeneration, emergency planning, tourism promotion and coastal protection.

No. District Type of council Population (mid-2008 est.) Extent of area (hectares)[3]
1 Weymouth and Portland Borough council 65,000 4,175
2 West Dorset District council 97,200 108,148
3 North Dorset District council 67,900 60,992
4 Purbeck District council 46,000 40,440
5 East Dorset District council 85,900 35,437
6 Christchurch Borough council 45,800 5,040

See also

References

  1. ↑ "County Hall". Dorset County Council.
  2. ↑ "Your Councillors". 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
  3. ↑ "Standard Area Measurements (extent of the realm)" (ZIP). Office for National Statistics. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2009.

Coordinates: 50°42′58″N 2°26′26″W / 50.71611°N 2.44056°W / 50.71611; -2.44056 (County Hall)

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