We’re going to let you into a little secret:::::: Public Bodies deliver a wide range of services, it can be a minefield working out which is the right one to engage with on a subject and you can ping pong between organsations. Often there can be more than one organisation responsible for a service, so it depends on your local democratic structure, plus a whole host of other things..

 

Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to go out and find out which organisation is in charge of the matter you would like to influence.

 

To give you a feel for the complexity of local government there are several tiers, we will elaborate as to what each can do in future episodes. 

 

Parish or Town Councils – Mainly in Shire County areas of the UK, these are small elected bodies that run very local services, perhaps a community centre. They tend to own and look after local parks and can raise funding through Council Tax.

 

District or Borough (sometimes referred to as City or Town) – Usually in Suburban and Rural parts of the UK, if you have one of these they will likely run local leisure facilities, empty your bins and deal with litter and fly-tipping.

 

County – Again usually in Suburban and Rural parts of the UK, these Councils run social care and education, will be responsible for disposing of waste and deal with local roads.

 

Unitary – Usually these are centred around a large Urban area, these organisations deliver all the services that a District and County would usually do.

 

This podcast will cover a broad range of public bodies, we have contributors from Universities, NHS and a range of other bodies. Including what are known as Non-Departmental Organisations – Sometimes referred to as Quangos (Quasie semi autonomous non-governmental organisations).

 

These include: 

Highways England

Natural England

The Environment Agency

 

Before contacting an organisation about a matter, look on their website to see what services they deliver.

 

Remember Public Bodies deliver a range of services and this can change from area to area, make sure you are contacting the right one before engaging with them.