Some of you have told us that you’re not sure what Community Councils do and how they fit into the picture with the County Council. So here we’ve outlined some of the key information about this. Please get in touch if you have more questions!
There are two main administrative parts to local government in Wales:
- County or County Borough Councils, also known as Principal Councils.
- Community and Town Councils (CTCs)
1. Principal Councils
The Principal Councils have a legal responsibility to provide services such as education, environmental health, social services, most highway maintenance, and town and country planning for their whole county.
The election of councillors to these councils takes place every 5 years. Each councillor is elected to represent a specific area (electoral ward). They will act on behalf of that community, making decisions about local services, budgets and the overall level of council services. The City and County of Swansea Council (simply Swansea Council or CCS) is ‘our’ Principal Council.
About Swansea Council
Swansea Council is served by 75 elected councillors from a range of political groups who are the council’s decision makers, agreeing policies and spending priorities.
Each councillor is elected to represent a specific area (electoral ward). They will act on behalf of that community making decisions about local services, budgets and the overall level of council services.
Local Councillors are elected by the community during a Local Government Election to decide how the council should carry out its various activities. They represent public interest as well as individuals living within the ward in which they have been elected to serve a term of office. They have regular contact with the general public through council meetings, telephone calls or surgeries.
Richard Lewis (Conservative) is the representative for Gower
2. Community and Town Councils
Community and Town Councils (CTCs), represent individual communities or towns within a county. They have legal powers to deliver some services, but fewer duties than County Councils. There are more than 730 such councils throughout Wales, on which sit a total of around 8,000 councillors. Community councils (known as Parish Councils in England) are the most local form of democracy in the Welsh political system.
The size of community and town councils vary widely in terms of the number of people they represent (from around 200 to 45,000), the geographical area they cover, and the funding they receive. Elections to these councils also take place every 5 years.
What is a Community Council?
A community council is a corporate body consisting of the chair and the community councillors. They were established under the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972) and replaced the previous system of parish councils.
Community councillors are elected by the local government electors for that community and hold office for a term of 5 years. The chair is elected annually by the council from among the councillors. The Councillors are not volunteers as such (they sign a declaration of acceptance of office, to serve their local community) although they are unpaid for their time.
What do Community Councils do?
Community Councils serve a vital function in representing local interests and in their ability to
- provide local responsiveness – particularly important at times of crisis, such as during the pandemic;
- mobilise community activity, for example commemorative events;
- add value to services delivered by principal authorities (for example through raising awareness of those services at local level and how to make best use of them).
Community and town councils also have the scope to deliver many services, depending on the size of the community they represent and their budget. Under the Local Government Act 2000, community councils have power to do anything they consider is likely to achieve the promotion or improvement of the economic well-being, social well-being or environmental well-being of their area.
Examples of services provided by community and town councils include:
- street lighting
- community centres/village halls and indoor recreation facilities
- playing fields
- public information signs and noticeboards
- public seating and bus shelters
- war memorials
- footpaths
- review and respond to local planning applications under consideration by the County Council.
Do CTCs and County Councils work together?
Yes! Community and town councils work closely with the county or county borough council in the area, representing the interests of their communities. They can also work in partnership with other organisations (including other community or town councils in the area) to deliver services. By offering support, including funding, equipment or premises, community and town councils can also help other bodies to provide services, such as child care, services for the elderly, environmental initiatives and arts and sports activities.
For the Swansea area, Swansea Council facilitates a Community & Town Council Forum that meets at least twice a year (usually more) either by Zoom or in person in City Hall. Representatives (usually the Chair and clerk) from all CTCs are encouraged to attend, to contribute towards the agenda of Forum meetings and contribute proactively to the discussion.
At local level, we have the Gower Forum which meets quarterly. This brings together all of the local Community Councils to share ideas, identify common concerns or issues and for the purpose of achieving a more effective and united voice, working for the residents and businesses of Gower.
How are CTCs funded?
Funding is mainly through the ‘precept’ – a charge to council tax under section 41 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 – which CTCs receive from their Principal Authority. A community council must calculate its budget requirement for a financial year in accordance with section 50 of that Act and issue a precept to the billing authority (e.g. Swansea Council). A quarter of all councils in Wales set a precept of less than £5,000. RCC’s precept for 2024/25 is £6,000.
Council boundaries and representation
The boundaries of Principal and Community/Town Councils are decided by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. There are 22 Principal Councils in Wales. Each is divided into county wards and the Boundary Commission also decides how these county wards further subdivided to form Community (or Town) Councils.
The Swansea Council area is currently made up of 32 wards and these are served by a total of 75 councillors. Rhossili, Reynoldston, Port Eynon, Penrice, Llangennith, Llanmadoc & Cheriton, and Llanrhidian Lower CCs are all part of Gower ward and have one representative (Richard Lewis) on Swansea Council. The larger wards like Sketty and Morriston, are each represented by 5 councillors
There are 21 Community Councils and 3 Town Councils under Swansea County Council– and these can then be further sub-divided into community wards. For example, Port Eynon CC has 3 wards: Port Eynon, Llanddewi and Knelston, with a total of 513 electors but Rhossili CC has no wards and 207 electors. The diagram below shows the overall structure.
These boundaries have recently been reviewed by the Boundary Commission and the public consultation on this is due to end on July 10th 2024. Find out more at https://rhossilicc.org.uk/merger-of-our-local-community-councils-and-gower-south-whats-it-all-about/
Want to find out more?
Take a look at a typical agenda to see what issues we might cover in a meeting.
Read a set of minutes – but be mindful that these are formal, public records and not necessarily ‘good reads’!
Have a look at the Annual Reports on our website at https://rhossilicc.org.uk/community-information/.
Come along to a meeting, in person or via Zoom – details are posted on our website homepage and Noticeboards every month (https://rhossilicc.org.uk/).
Chat to us! Contact details for all councillors can be found at https://rhossilicc.org.uk/your-council/.
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