Local Authorities

There are 24 Local Authorities, including North Yorkshire County Council, North York Moors National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The main responsibilities and functions of the Local Authorities are to:

• Deliver housing, especially affordable housing and housing renewal
• Deliver local regeneration programmes

The Local Authority’s main mechanisms to help deliver the outcomes set out in the Yorkshire and Humber Plan are:

• Prepare Local Development Frameworks that address local housing, economic development, regeneration and environmental objectives
• Prepare Local Transport Plans that address the local transport needs
• Lead the process of preparing Local Area Agreements so as to connect local, regional and national priorities

This role will become increasingly important as the sub-national review places Local Authorities at the centre of delivering the Single Regional Strategy, providing strategic leadership within and across local areas to tackle the maintenance and delivery of more sustainable communities.

Local authorities have many responsibilities and powers needed to promote or improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of their area. But to achieve these outcomes, local authorities need to work with range of partners in other public services, local people, business, and the voluntary and community sectors. Local Strategic Partnerships are the means through which this can be achieved.

Elected members and directly elected mayors will always have key roles to play. As ward councillors, they are able to offer insight into the problems of the most deprived areas and to provide a link between local people and service providers and planners. Elected members will also have important roles, both as members of the executive and/or scrutiny committees, in ensuring that services provided by the council and its partners are designed and delivered in a way that meets the needs of deprived areas and disadvantaged groups.