Thanet District Council

Thanet District Council
Type
Type
History
Founded 1 April 1974
Leadership
Chairman
David Saunders,      Conservative
Leader
Bob Bayford,      Conservative
Structure
Seats 56
Political groups
 [1]
Elections
Last election
 7 May 2015
Website
www.thanet.gov.uk

Thanet District Council is the local government body for the Thanet district.[2][3] Its administrative centre is Margate. It is one of the district councils in Kent. On a national level, Thanet forms part of two parliamentary constituencies at Westminster and is represented in Parliament by two MPs.

History

The district was formed by the merger of:

Isle of Thanet Rural District was created by the Local Government Act 1894 and was abolished in 1935.

Responsibilities

Thanet district council is responsible for providing clear leadership to the community and to continuously improve the delivery of local services. These services include: leisure, environmental health, housing — including the provision of social housing and housing benefit and rubbish collection. (First tier authorities have no responsibility for highways and under statute this function cannot be passed between different levels of local government.) Kent County Council is responsible for more strategic services such as education, libraries, main roads, social services, trading standards and transport.

Organisation

The powers of the council are specified in its constitution in accordance with the Local Government Act 2000.

The council is a Cabinet-style council with a Leader and the Cabinet itself, which is formed by the majority party in the District. Decisions on the Council's services are made by the Executive (or cabinet) which comprises 5 councillors. Each member of the Cabinet holds a separate portfolio. The Leader and Cabinet are responsible for policies, plans and strategies, and for recommending them to the overall Council, which is convened as a whole, at regular council meetings. The full council consists of 56 councillors.

The Cabinet is held to account by the remainder of the Councillors acting as Overview and Scrutiny which verify that decisions are appropriate and can prevent a decision taking immediate effect. The council is chaired by Cllr David Saunders and led by Cllr Bob Bayford.[4][5][6][7]

Mayors

Mayors are ceremonial figures whose only real power is to chair sessions of their Councils.

  • Mayor of Margate: Councillor Julie Dellar[8]
  • Mayor of Ramsgate: Councillor Trevor Shonk[9]
  • Mayor of Broadstairs: Councillor Paul Moore[10]

Officers

Councillors are responsible for the appointment and oversight of officers, who are delegated to perform most tasks. The Chief Executive Officer, has overall responsibility for council employees and operates in conjunction with department heads.

  • Chief Executive Officer: Madeline Homer
  • Director Of Operations: Gavin Waite[11]

Parishes

The civil parishes located in the district are:

Elections

Elections are held every four years. The last council election took place on 7 May 2015, which saw UKIP take majority control of the council with 33 seats. The Conservative Party won 18 seats, the Labour Party won 4 seats, and one Independent was elected.[12] By-elections and defections have since reduced UKIP to a minority of seats. UKIP lost the leadership of the council to the Conservatives in March 2018. The next election is due in May 2019.

Electoral wards

The district is divided into 23 electoral wards, mainly located in the coastal resorts of Margate, Cliftonville, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.[13]

History of control

ElectionParty
1973 Conservative
1976
1979
1983
1987 No overall control
1991 Conservative
1995 Labour
1999
2003 Conservative
2007
2011 No overall control
2015 UKIP
2015 No overall control
2016 UKIP
2017 No overall control

References

  1. ↑ Council, Thanet District (4 March 2018). "Your Councillors". democracy.thanet.gov.uk.
  2. ↑ "Thanet District Council". www.thanet.gov.uk.
  3. ↑ A-Z of Thanet District Council services
  4. ↑ "Your Councillors - Thanet". Thanet District Council. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  5. ↑ Council, Thanet District (4 March 2018). "Chairman of Council". democracy.thanet.gov.uk.
  6. ↑ "Ukip LOSES control of Thanet council".
  7. ↑ "The Thanet District Councillors". thanet.gov.uk.
  8. ↑ "The Current Mayor, Cllr Julie Dellar - The Mayor and Charter Trustees of Margate, Thanet". www.margate.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  9. ↑ "'Out and about' Ramsgate mayor voted in for fourth term". The Isle Of Thanet News. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  10. ↑ "Town Mayor - Broadstairs & St Peter's Town Council". www.broadstairs.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  11. ↑ "Councillor wants colleagues to die". Kent Online. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  12. ↑ "Election 2015: UKIP takes control of its first council, in Thanet". BBC News. 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  13. ↑ "Your Councillors". democracy.thanet.gov.uk. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
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