Who does what?
Local councils have elected councillors, professional officers and a wide range of legal powers and duties. This page explains how those different responsibilities fit together.
Councillors are elected to make decisions on behalf of their community, while officers help make sure those decisions are lawful and carried out properly.
Elected by and accountable to the community
A local council is made up of councillors who meet regularly to make decisions about the direction of the Council and the work it carries out for its community.
The Council itself is the decision-making body.
As an elected body, it is accountable to the people it represents. Councillors discuss proposals, agree priorities, set budgets and vote on Council decisions.
Individual councillors have an important representative role, but Council decisions are normally made collectively at meetings or through powers which the Council has formally delegated.
The main roles within a local council
Councillors and officers work together, but they have different responsibilities.
The Council
Makes the decisions.
The Council collectively agrees policies, priorities, budgets, projects and major spending decisions.
Councillors
Represent the community.
Councillors listen to residents, raise issues, take part in debate and vote on Council decisions.
Chair / Town Mayor
Presides over Council meetings.
In a Town Council the Chair may use the title Town Mayor and may also represent the town at civic and community events.
The Clerk
The Council's professional officer.
The Clerk advises on law and procedure, supports Council meetings and helps implement Council decisions.
The role of a councillor
A councillor's primary role is to represent the people who live in their locality.
Councillors provide a bridge between the community and the Council. They can advocate for residents, raise concerns and help signpost people towards the right organisation or service.
To represent local views properly, councillors need to build strong relationships within their communities and encourage residents to make their views known.
Good communication and engagement are therefore central to being an effective local councillor.
Councillors represent and influence
Councillors bring residents' views into the Council's decision-making process and help determine its priorities.
They also have to consider the interests of the wider community when making decisions, particularly where different residents have different views.
A councillor does not normally have the authority to make a Council decision simply because they personally support it.
The role of the Clerk
The Clerk plays an essential role in making sure the Council operates properly.
A paid Clerk is normally appointed to assist the Council in carrying out its statutory functions and duties and exercising its statutory powers.
The Clerk advises councillors on procedure and legal requirements and helps councillors put the decisions of the Council into practice.
The Clerk works for and is accountable to the Council as a whole, rather than to an individual councillor.
Powers and duties of local councils
Local councils operate within a statutory framework. Different pieces of legislation give them powers to act and duties which they are required to fulfil.
The Council cannot simply spend public money or take action without having the legal authority to do so.
Before exercising a power, the Council and its Clerk need to identify the statutory basis which allows that action to be taken.
The Council may do it
Legislation gives the Council the ability to take a particular action if it chooses to do so.
The Council must do it
Legislation places a requirement on the Council which it is legally obliged to fulfil.
A note about the detailed list below: the statutory references reproduce the detailed information contained on the existing Windsor Town Council website. Legislation is amended over time, so the current legal basis should always be checked by the Clerk or appropriate adviser before a Council relies on a particular power.
Detailed powers and duties
Open each section below to see the functions, powers or duties and the statutory provisions listed for them.
A – C
| Function | Power or duty | Statutory provision |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts | Duty to appoint a Responsible Financial Officer to manage the Council's accounts. | Local Government Act 1972, section 151 |
| Acceptance of office | Duty for councillors and the chairman to sign a declaration of acceptance of office. | Local Government Act 1972, section 83 |
| Agency arrangements | Power to arrange for the discharge of functions by another local authority. | Local Government Act 1972, section 101 |
| Allotments | Power to provide allotments and a duty to provide allotment gardens where sufficient demand exists. | Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908, sections 23, 26 and 42 |
| Baths and washhouses | Power to provide public baths and washhouses. | Public Health Act 1936, sections 221–223 and 227 |
| Borrowing | Power to borrow money for statutory functions. | Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 13 |
| Burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria* | Power to acquire and maintain burial grounds, provide burial facilities, maintain memorials and monuments, and contribute towards cemetery maintenance. |
Open Spaces Act 1906, sections 9 and 10; Local Government Act 1972, section 214; Parish Councils and Burial Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970, section 1 |
| Bus shelters* | Power to provide and maintain bus shelters. | Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953, section 4 |
| Byelaws | Power to make byelaws in relation to public walks, pleasure grounds, cycle parks, baths and washhouses, open spaces and burial grounds. |
Public Health Act 1875, section 164; Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, section 57(7); Public Health Act 1936, section 233; Open Spaces Act 1906, section 15 |
| Charities | Power to appoint trustees of parochial charities. | Charities Act 1993, section 79 |
| Christmas lights | Power to provide Christmas lighting to attract visitors. | Local Government Act 1972, section 144 |
| Citizens Advice Bureau | Power to support a Citizens Advice Bureau. | Local Government Act 1972, section 142 |
| Clocks* | Power to provide public clocks. | Parish Councils Act 1957, section 2 |
| Closed churchyards | Power, and in some circumstances duty, to maintain. | Local Government Act 1972, section 215 |
| Commons and common pastures | Powers relating to enclosure, regulation and management and the provision of common pasture. |
Inclosure Act 1845; Local Government Act 1894, section 8(4); Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908, section 34 |
| Community centres | Power to provide and equip community buildings, including buildings for clubs with athletic, social or educational objectives. |
Local Government Act 1972, section 133; Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, section 19 |
| Conference facilities* | Power to provide and encourage the use of conference facilities. | Local Government Act, section 144 |
| Consultation | Right to be consulted by principal councils in circumstances provided for by legislation. |
Local Government and Rating Act 1997, section 21; Local Government Act 1972, section 33A |
| Crime prevention* | Power to spend money on certain crime-prevention measures. | Local Government and Rating Act 1997, section 31 |
D – L
| Function | Power or duty | Statutory provision |
|---|---|---|
| Drainage | Power to deal with ditches and ponds. | Public Health Act 1936, section 260 |
| Entertainment and the arts* | Power to provide entertainment and support the arts, including festivals and celebrations. | Local Government Act 1972, section 145 |
| Flagpoles | Power to erect flagpoles in the highway. | Highways Act 1980, section 144 |
| General expenditure / section 137 | Power to incur expenditure not otherwise authorised where the Council considers it to be in the interests of its area or inhabitants, subject to statutory conditions. | Local Government Act 1972, section 137 |
| Gifts | Power to accept gifts. | Local Government Act 1972, section 139 |
| Highways | Power to maintain certain footpaths and bridleways. | Highways Act 1980, sections 43 and 50 |
| Highways – lighting | Power to light roads and public places. | Parish Councils Act 1957, section 3 |
| Highways – parking | Power to provide parking places for vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles. | Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, section 57 |
| Highways – dedication | Power to make a dedication agreement for a new highway or widening of an existing highway. | Highways Act 1980, sections 30 and 72 |
| Highways – stopping up | Right in certain circumstances to object to applications to stop up, divert or cease maintaining a highway. | Highways Act 1980, sections 47 and 116 |
| Highways – obstruction | Power to complain to a highway authority where a highway is unlawfully stopped up or obstructed. | Highways Act 1980, section 130 |
| Highways – trees and verges | Power to plant trees and maintain roadside verges, subject to the statutory framework. | Highways Act 1980, section 96 |
| Highways – footpaths | Power in specified circumstances relating to unlawful ploughing of a footpath or bridleway. | Highways Act 1980, section 134 |
| Highways – signs | Power to provide certain traffic signs and notices. | Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, section 72 |
| Interests | Duty to register and declare relevant interests in accordance with the applicable standards framework. | Local government standards and interests legislation |
| Investments | Power to participate in certain collective investment arrangements. | Trustee Act 1961, section 11 |
| Land | Power to acquire land by agreement, appropriate land and dispose of land. | Local Government Act 1972, sections 124, 126 and 127 |
| Land – compulsory purchase | Power in appropriate circumstances to acquire land by compulsory purchase. | Local Government Act 1972, section 125 |
| Land – gifts | Power to accept gifts of land. | Local Government Act 1972, section 139 |
| Land – information | Power to obtain particulars of persons interested in land. | Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, section 16 |
| Lighting | Power to light roads and public places. |
Parish Councils Act 1957, section 3; Highways Act 1980, section 301 |
| Litter* | Power to provide litter bins in streets and public places. | Litter Act 1983, sections 5 and 6 |
| Lotteries | Power to promote lotteries subject to the applicable regulatory regime. | Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976, section 7 |
M – R
| Function | Power or duty | Statutory provision |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings | Duties relating to annual meetings and powers relating to the convening of parish meetings. | Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12, paragraphs 7, 14 and 23 |
| Mortuaries and post-mortem rooms | Power to provide mortuaries and post-mortem rooms. | Public Health Act 1936, section 198 |
| Newsletters | Power to provide information relating to matters affecting local government. | Local Government Act 1972, section 142 |
| Nuisances* | Power to deal with certain offensive ponds, ditches and gutters. | Public Health Act 1936, section 260 |
| Open spaces | Power to acquire and maintain open spaces. |
Public Health Act 1875, section 164; Open Spaces Act 1906, sections 9 and 10 |
| Parish documents | Power to give directions regarding custody of parish documents. | Local Government Act 1972, section 226 |
| Parking facilities | Power to provide parking places for motor vehicles and bicycles. | Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, sections 57 and 63 |
| Parks and pleasure grounds | Power to acquire land or provide recreation grounds, public walks, pleasure grounds and open spaces and to manage and control them. |
Public Health Act 1875, section 164; Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 14 paragraph 27; Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1890, section 44 |
| Public buildings and village halls | Power to provide buildings for offices, public meetings and assemblies. | Local Government Act 1972, section 133 |
| Public conveniences | Power to provide public conveniences. | Public Health Act 1936, section 87 |
| Publicity | Power to provide information about matters affecting local government. | Local Government Act 1972, section 142 |
| Records | Power to collect, exhibit and purchase local records. | Local Government (Records) Act 1962, sections 1 and 2 |
| Recreation* | Power to provide a wide range of recreational facilities. |
Open Spaces Act 1906, sections 9 and 10; Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, section 19 |
| Recreation – boating pools | Power to provide boating pools. | Public Health Act 1961, section 54 |
S – Z
| Function | Power or duty | Statutory provision |
|---|---|---|
| Seats and shelters* | Power to provide roadside seats and shelters. | Parish Councils Act 1957, section 1 |
| Town and country planning | Right to be notified of and make representations on planning applications. The Town Council would not itself become the planning authority deciding applications. | Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Schedule 1 and related provisions |
| Town status | Power to adopt town status. | Local Government Act 1972, sections 245 and 245B |
| Tourism* | Power to contribute towards the encouragement of tourism. | Local Government Act 1972, section 144 |
| Traffic calming | Power to contribute towards the cost of traffic-calming measures. | Highways Act 1980, section 274A |
| Transport* | Powers relating to car-sharing schemes, grants for certain bus services, taxi-fare concessions, investigation of public-transport needs and the provision of public-transport information. |
Local Government and Rating Act 1997, section 26; Transport Act 1985, section 106A |
| Village signs | Power to provide decorative signs to inform visitors. | Local Government Act 1972, section 144 |
| Village greens* | Power to maintain village greens, make byelaws and take action in relation to certain interference with greens. |
Open Spaces Act 1906, section 15; Inclosure Act 1857, section 12; Commons Act 1876, section 29 |
| Village halls* | Powers relating to community centres and public buildings can apply. | See Community centres and Public buildings |
| War memorials | Power to maintain, repair and protect war memorials. | War Memorials (Local Authorities' Powers) Act 1923, section 1, as extended by subsequent legislation |
| Water supply | Power to utilise certain wells, springs or streams and provide facilities for obtaining water from them. | Public Health Act 1936, section 125 |
Powers come with responsibilities
A Council handling public money and making public decisions must operate openly, lawfully and accountably.
Formal Council business is conducted through meetings, committees and properly delegated decisions.
The Council must maintain proper financial records, controls and arrangements for managing public money.
Councillors are accountable to residents for the decisions made and money spent by the Council.
Councillors must comply with the Council's Code of Conduct and rules relating to interests.
Agendas, decisions, accounts and other information are subject to requirements designed to support public scrutiny.
The Clerk and other officers support councillors in making lawful and well-informed decisions.
Councillors decide. Officers advise and deliver.
Behind those decisions is a detailed legal framework setting out what a local council may do and what it must do.