North Somerset Council

North Somerset Council
Whole council elected every four years.
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 1996 (1996-04-01)
Preceded by	Avon County Council Woodspring District Council
Leadership
Chairman	Cllr Chris Blades Since 9 May 2017
Leader of the Council	Cllr Nigel Ashton, Conservative Since 3 May 2007
Structure
Seats	50 councillors
Political groups	Administration      Conservative (36) Other parties      Independent (5)      Liberal Democrat (4)      Labour (4)      Green (1)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	7 May 2015
Next election	May 2019
Meeting place
Town Hall, Weston-super-Mare
Website
www.n-somerset.gov.uk

North Somerset Council is the local authority of North Somerset. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council meets at Weston-super-Mare Town Hall.

Powers and Functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, North Somerset is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, North Somerset Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council, it is a billing authority that collects Council Tax and business rates, processes local planning applications and is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council, it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

Political Composition

North Somerset unitary council is elected every four years, electing a total of 50 councillors in 20 single-member wards and 15 two-member wards. Since the first election to the unitary authority in 1995, the council has either been under Conservative party control, or no party has held a majority. The Conservatives gained a majority at the 2007 election and have retained control since then.

The current political composition of the council is:

See also

• North Somerset Council elections

External links

• North Somerset Council – Official website