Portsmouth City Council is the local authority of the city of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, England. It is a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, 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.
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, Portsmouth is within a
non-metropolitan area of England. As a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, Portsmouth City 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 collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for
housing
Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...
, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a unitary council it is a
local education authority
Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...
, responsible for social services, libraries, and waste disposal.
Political composition
Portsmouth City Council consists of 42 councillors with one third of the council being elected every four years, electing one out of three councillors for each of the city's 14 wards.
Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:
Councillors and wards
List of Portsmouth city councillors by ward:
See also
*
Portsmouth City Council elections
References
{{Authority control
Unitary authority councils of England
Local education authorities in England
Local authorities in Hampshire
Leader and cabinet executives
Billing authorities in England
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...