There is one common feature for governments all over the globe and that is a complex structure. The structure is very (very) seldom linear with levels that go from A – Z in a logical manner. It doesn’t help when there is an entirely different structure between national and regional governments, and again between districts in the same county.
Confused already?
Don’t worry. We’re going to look at how local government is structured and how that should shape your digital marketing strategies for local government.
Tiers in Local Government
If you take a very broad view, local government is made up of tiers: Upper and lower tiers and single tiers. Let’s start with two tiers.
Two Tiers
There are 317 local authorities in England, most of which are divided into two tiers.
1) County councils (upper tier)
As you might suspect, their services are county-wide. There are 21 County Councils.
Services provided by County Councils include (but are not limited to):
- Education
- Waste disposal
- Adult social care
- Transport
- Fire and public safety
2) District councils (boroughs or city councils) (lower tier)
They provide services to a much smaller (local) area within a county. There are 164 District Councils.
A district council provides services that include (but aren’t limited to):
- Refuse or waste collection
- Housing
- Planning applications
- Recycling
- Council tax collection
Single Tiers
Areas not covered by county or district councils fall under a single unitary authority. There are 62 unitary authorities.
Note: This is where it starts to get complicated.
There are three unitary authorities or areas.
1) Metropolitan districts
Metropolitan boroughs or district councils oversee all the services in large urban areas. There are 36 Metropolitan Districts.
2) London boroughs
They provide services to unitary councils. There are 32 London Boroughs.
3) Unitary authorities
Their coverage is divided into three areas.
- A county
- Part of a county
- Large town or city
Examples include:
- Cornwall Council
- Reading Borough Council
Special mentions
There are two special mentions in the local government structure.
City of London
The City of London Corporation provides services for the “Square Mile,” which includes the financial district, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Museum of London, and an assortment of trendy bars and restaurants.
Services in the City of London include (but aren’t limited to):
- Education
- The Barbican Arts Centre
- Policing
- Town planning
Isles of Scilly
Technically, the Council of the Isles of Scilly is a unitary authority but Cornwall Council provides support with certain services. The Council of the Isles of Scilly is unique because it has several independent areas of autonomy, for example:
- Water authority
- Airport authority
- Sea Fisheries Committee
Combined authorities
Combined authorities are, technically, single unitary authorities.
As the name suggests, local councils in an area join together in one combined authority. Central government approval is necessary to be granted combined authority status. They are overseen by an elected mayor and are granted a devolution of powers.
Mayors chair the combined authority cabinet and can develop spending strategies for their area. However, these strategies must be approved by the cabinet. They also sit on the Local Enterprise Partnership and have the power to veto decisions that require unanimous approval.
Elected mayors can assume the roles belonging to police and crime commissioners.
There is no set format or standard for combined authorities, so the details among local government varies. However, there are certain mandatory elements, including:
- Involvement in UK trade and investment services.
- Powers over strategic planning
- Authority to establish public land commissions intended to influence the disposal of public assets
- Powers over local transport, including bus franchising and pooled and devolved transport funding.
- A devolved adult skills budget
There are 10 combined authorities and one exception to the elected mayor rule.
- Cambridge and Peterborough
- Greater Manchester
- Liverpool City Region
- North East (no elected mayor)
- North of Tyne
- Sheffield City Region
- Tees Valley
- West Midlands
- West of England
- West Yorkshire
Town, Parish and Community Councils
Governing structures in local communities don’t get smaller than this. There are roughly 9000 Town and Parish Councils.
Their responsibilities cover local amenities, including (but not limited to):
- Footpaths
- Bus shelters
- Cemeteries
- Play areas and play equipment
- Community centres
- Issuing fixed fines for:
- Litter
- Graffiti
- Dog offences
Parish and Town Councils are also involved in consultation regarding highway and planning applications.
General Responsibilities
The details of two-tier and unitary authorities’ responsibilities vary, but there are non-negotiable statutory services that councils and elected councillors must provide.
These include:
Education
- Access to schools
- Transport to and from school
- Adult learning
Housing
- Social housing maintenance
- Provision of suitable accommodation for at-risk families and people in need.
Social services
- Child protection
- Senior adult care
Highways and transport
- Road maintenance
- Traffic flow
Waste management
- Refuse collection
- Waste disposal
- Recycling
Leisure and cultural services
- Libraries and maintenance of libraries
- Arts venues
Consumer protection
- Enforce consumer protection laws
- Monitoring trading standards
Environmental and health services
- Food inspection to ensure the safety of food products in restaurants and supermarkets
- Inspection to ensure all relevant food sources comply with industry rules and regulations
- Local pollution management
Planning
- Local development management
- Building safety inspections.
Economic development
- Attracting new business
- Grow tourism
Both of these are prime opportunities for local government marketing strategies to boost public sector procurement.
Emergency planning
- Floods
- Mountain slides
- Terrorist attacks
- Fire
Note: Combined authorities may be responsible for undefined extra duties and other services.
Councillors and Elections
The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England is responsible for overseeing much of the local electoral process, for instance, it determines the number of electoral areas and the number of councillors for each local authority.
Elections
Council elections are held on the first Thursday in May, but that’s the only thing that various local elections have in common.
This is also a bit complicated because councillors are elected according to different electoral cycles.
- Whole council elections: All councillors are elected every four years.
- Half council elections: Half of the councillors are elected every two years.
- Third council elections: A third of the councillors are elected every year for three years
- No elections in the fourth year.
Councillors
Councillors are elected in a specific geographical area, where they work on behalf of local communities. There are approximately 17,000 local government councillors in England. Their role isn’t an easy one because they have to balance all parties’ needs to everyone’s satisfaction. This includes residents, the voting public, political parties, and county, district, and city councils.
As local authorities, they have the final say in policies, projects, programmes, and initiatives. Council officers are the people responsible for implementing policies, etc. and ensuring service delivery.
Chief Executive Officers are permanent employees (they aren’t elected) who oversee the overall management of local councils and their components, including directorates and departments.
Departments include finance, corporate services, children’s services, adults’ services, housing, education, health and social care, etc.
When it comes to marketing to local government, it’s the department decision-makers who are the target audience.
Speaking of decisions
One of the biggest marketing tips for local government is: Keep it simple.
Decisions are usually made by the full district or city council at a formal council meeting. That means marketing messages must be simple enough to be understood by the majority of decision makers who aren’t in the relevant field.
The trick is to find a balance between layman-understanding and condescension.
Council Spending
A local government marketing agency needs to know how and where local governments spend their budgets, so they can more precisely tailor their marketing strategy to take advantage of the opportunities present.
According to the central government, revenue expenditure for local governments includes:
- Employee-related costs: Salaries
- Procurement costs: Transport, fuel, and building maintenance
- Levies to local authorities that provide a service: Waste disposal
- Payment of national rewards and/or benefits: Rent allowances
- Recharges to other accounts
Procurement is where a local government marketing strategy must be focused.
It’s worth noting that local authorities total revenue expenditure for the period 2021 – 2022 was: £110.3 billion.
Local government marketing agencies should also pay close attention to capital expenditure because it’s specifically reserved for a plethora of procurement activities, including:
- Buying, contracting, and improving buildings: Schools, houses, museums, police stations, libraries, fire stations, etc.
- Land for development: Roads, soccer fields, etc.
- Vehicles, plants and machinery: Street lighting, road signs, etc.
It’s worth noting that total capital expenditure for the period 2021 – 2022 was: £24.65 billion
Tailor Marketing Strategies to Local Government Sector Structure
Now that we’ve had a look at how local government sectors are structured we know one thing for sure, it is complicated.
We’ve learnt another important lesson; tackling the essential task of marketing to local governments is too time-consuming for businesses that are competing for lucrative UK government contracts in the public sector.
Cadence Marketing has decades of experience in local government marketing. Harness our experience in B2G marketing and let us spread your message to the key decision-makers in your field. Contact us to book a free consultation and find out how your business can reap the rewards of professional digital marketing for local government contracts.
