Local government in Wales is primarily undertaken by the twenty-two principal councils. The councils are unitary authorities, meaning they are responsible for providing local government services within their principal area, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highway maintenance. The principal areas are divided into communities, most of which have an elected community council. The services provided by community councils vary, but they will typically maintain public spaces and facilities. Local councils in Wales are elected; the most recent local elections in Wales took place in 2022, and the next are due to take place in 2027.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for the inspection of public and private, primary and secondary schools, as well as further education colleges, community learning, Local Authority Education Departments and teacher education.
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964. It was disbanded on 1 July 1999 when most of its powers were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales, with some powers transferred to the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, a department popularly known as the Wales Office.
The Welsh Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries and ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb estyn meaning "to reach (out), stretch or extend". Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and standards in education and training provided in Wales.
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is a non-departmental public body in England set up to promote the welfare of children and families involved in family court. It was formed in April 2001 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and is accountable to Parliament through the Ministry of Justice. Cafcass is independent of the courts, social services, education, health authorities and all similar agencies.
The Local Government Act 1972 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Government of 1970–74.
Town and country planning in the United Kingdom is the part of UK land law which concerns land use planning. Its goal is to ensure sustainable economic development and a better environment. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning, which outside of England is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd.
The Valuation Office Agency is a government body in England and Wales. It is an executive agency of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
In England, directly elected mayors are directly elected executive political leaders of some local government bodies, usually either local authorities (councils) or combined authorities. Mayors of the latter may be informally referred to as “metro mayors”.
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating the development of land in England and Wales. It is a central part of English land law in that it concerns town and country planning in the United Kingdom. Repealed in parts by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, it is now also complemented by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A local plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day decisions as to whether or not planning permission should be granted, under the system known as development control. In order to ensure that these decisions are rational and consistent, they must be considered against the development plan adopted by the authority, after public consultation and having proper regard for other material factors.
Development Management (DM), formerly known as planning control, or development control, is the element of the United Kingdom's system of town and country planning through which local government or the Secretary of State, regulates land use and new building, i.e. development. It relies on a "plan-led system" whereby development plans are produced, involving various stages of public consultation prior to being adopted. Subsequently, development that requires planning permission, which is granted or refused with reference to the development plan as the starting point, then other material considerations are taken into account.
A Welsh Government sponsored body (WGSB) is a non-departmental public body directly funded by the Welsh Government. Under the Government of Wales Act 1998 the bodies were sponsored by the National Assembly for Wales and were known as an Assembly sponsored public body, and this was changed by the Schedule 3 of the Wales Act 2017 which amended the Government of Wales Act 2006.
A building control body is an organisation authorised by the Building Act 1984 to control building work that is subject to the Building Regulations in England and Wales (similar systems are provided in Northern Ireland, and in Scotland where the term 'building standards' is used. Such regulations or standards are also known as the building codes in other parts of the world.
Town and country planning in Wales is based on the land use planning system which applies in England. However, the system in Wales has some distinctive features which have arisen because substantial responsibility for town and country planning has been devolved to the Welsh Government (WAG). In particular, Wales now has a Spatial Plan and Welsh Ministers have a duty under the Government of Wales Act 2006 to promote sustainable development.
Public water supply and sanitation in England and Wales has been characterised by universal access and generally good service quality. In both England and Wales, water companies became privatised in 1989, although Dwr Cymru operates as a not-for-profit organisation. Whilst independent assessments place the cost of water provision in Wales and England as higher than most major countries in the EU between 1989 and 2005, the government body responsible for water regulation, together with the water companies, have claimed improvements in service quality during that period.
The Planning Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to speed up the process for approving major new infrastructure projects such as airports, roads, harbours, energy facilities such as nuclear power and waste facilities. This was felt to be necessary after the 8-year approval process for Heathrow Terminal 5. Along with the Climate Change Bill and the Energy Bill this bill was considered by the Brown administration to be one of the "three legislative pillars of the Government's strategy to secure long-term prosperity and quality of life for all". The Infrastructure Planning Commission has since been abolished and replaced with the Planning Inspectorate as of 31 March 2012.
In England and Wales, a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) is a major infrastructure development that bypasses normal local planning requirements. These include proposals for power plants, large renewable energy projects, new airports and airport extensions, and major road and rail projects. The NSIP nomenclature began to be used in 2008, and since April 2012 these projects have been managed by the Planning Inspectorate.
