Suffolk County Council

Suffolk County Council
Coat of arms
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan county council of Suffolk
Structure
Seats	75 councillors
Joint committees	East of England Local Government Association
Conservatives	36 / 75
Labour	15 / 75
UKIP	10 / 75
Liberal Democrats	8 / 75
Independent	3 / 75
Green	2 / 75
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2013
Next election	United Kingdom local elections, 2017
Website
www.suffolk.gov.uk

Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.

History

Established in 1974 and initially based at East Suffolk County Hall, the Council was located to Endeavour House in Ipswich in 2004.^[1] In September 2010, the council announced that it would seek to outsource a number of its services, in an attempt to cut its own budget by 30%.^[2] In 2011 controversy surrounding the CEO Andrea Hill featured in local and national press (including £122,000 spent on management consultants),^[3] leading to her disciplinary hearing and resignation.^[4]

Structure of the County Council

Endeavour House home of Suffolk County Council

The County Council is led by its CEO Deborah Cadman^[5] who has been in this role since October 2011.

The Council is split into 4 distinct areas each of which has responsibility for a range of services and statutory requirements.

The areas known as 'Directorates' are as follows

• Adult and Community Services^[6] (ACS) - Director Anna McCreadie
• Children and Young Peoples Services^[7] (CYP) - Director Sue Cook
• Economy Skills and Environment^[8] (ESE) - Director Lucy Robinson
• Public Protection^[9] (PP)

A fifth area of work known as Scrutiny and Monitoring covers all Directorates and is responsible for internally auditing the Councils work as well as providing registry and legal services.

The responsibilities listed below may be the responsibility of more than one Directorate and as such are labelled with the relevet acronym ACS, CYP, ESE and PP

Responsibilities

Suffolk County Council is responsible for major services which are provided countywide. These include:

• Business and trading standards: enforcing fair trading laws, protecting consumers and giving advice. (PP)
• Education and learning: schools, evening classes for adults, youth clubs and higher education grants.(ACS, CYP)
• Environment: conservation of the countryside and public access to it, waste disposal and archaeological services.(ESE)
• Leisure and culture: archives and support for arts and museums.(ACS)
• Public safety: fire fighting, rescue and emergency services, safety advice. (PP)
• Registration of births, marriages and deaths.
• Social care: care for older people who are physically or mentally infirm, or have a mental health problem, those with physical or learning disabilities and children and families who need protection and support. (ACS, CYP)
• Transport and streets: maintaining and improving Suffolk's roads, footpaths and public rights of way, road safety, public transport co-ordination. (ESE)

Shared services

Responsibility for some services is shared between the county council and borough, district and parish councils in Suffolk, including:

• Conservation
• Economic promotion
• Emergency planning
• Museums and the arts
• Public transport
• Street cleaning
• Tourism

Elections

The council is run by the Conservative party, but is now under No Overall Control after a series of by-elections. The Conservatives hold 36 seats on the Council, Labour 15, UKIP 10, Liberal Democrats 8, Independents 3, and Greens 2.

These last elections were held in May 2013.

Previous elections include:

• Suffolk County Council election, 2009
• Suffolk County Council election, 2005
• Suffolk County Council election, 2001

References

1. "Suffolk has its heart ripped out: Once-proud Grade Two listed county hall is wrecked by drug addicts and tramps". Daily Mail. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
2. "Suffolk County Council to outsource most services". BBC News. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
3. Private Eye
4. "Council chief Andrea Hill quits Suffolk Council". BBC News. 2011-07-06.
5. "Chief Executive Officer". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
6. "Adult and Community Services". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
7. "Children and Young Peoples Services". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
8. "Econemy Skills and Environment". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
9. "Public Protection". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

External links

• Suffolk County Council