Southampton City Council

Last updated

Southampton City Council
Southampton City Council.svg
Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Dave Shields,
Labour
since 15 May 2024 [1]
Lorna Fielker,
Labour
since 3 January 2024 [2]
Chief Executive (interim)
Andrew Travers
since 29 January 2024 [3]
Structure
Seats51 councillors
Southampton City Council 2024.svg
Political groups
Administration
  Labour (35)
Other parties
  Conservative (10)
  Liberal Democrats (5)
  Green (1)
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Southampton-CivicCentre-South.jpg
Civic Centre, Civic Centre Road, Southampton, SO14 7LY
Website
www.southampton.gov.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southampton has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Hampshire County Council.

Contents

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. It is based at Southampton Civic Centre.

History

The City of Southampton shown within Hampshire Southampton UK locator map.svg
The City of Southampton shown within Hampshire

Southampton was an ancient borough, with the earliest known borough charter dating from 1154. [4] Southampton City Council has records in its archives of council meetings as early as 1199. [5] The borough was led by a mayor from the 13th century. [6] In 1447 the borough was given the right to appoint its own sheriff which made it a county corporate, removing it from the jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Hampshire. [7]

In 1836, Southampton was reformed to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Southampton', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. [8]

When elected county councils were established in 1889, Southampton was considered large enough for the existing borough council to also run county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new Hampshire County Council. The borough boundaries were enlarged on several occasions. [9] [10] [11]

The borough was granted city status on 11 February 1964, after which the corporation was also known as Southampton City Council. [4]

Southampton was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It kept the same boundaries (which had last been enlarged in 1967), but the council became a lower-tier district council, with Hampshire County Council providing services to the city for the first time. [12]

In 1997, Southampton City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Hampshire County Council as part of the 1990s UK local government reforms. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Southampton covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Southampton was a county borough prior to 1974. [13] [14] Southampton remains part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire for the purposes of lieutenancy. [15]

In 2022 the city's mayor was granted the additional honorific title of lord mayor following the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours competition. [16] The city council also continues to appoint a sheriff, although the role has lost its judicial functions. It is now a ceremonial position, serving as deputy to the lord mayor. [17] Southampton is one of only fifteen towns and cities across England and Wales which retain the right to appoint their own sheriff. [18]

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, Southampton is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, Southampton 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, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

In August 2018 the council launched its own not-for-profit energy company 'CitizEn', created with the ambition to offer competitive rates for energy to tackle fuel poverty in the city. [19] [20] [21] The company was set up in cooperation with Nottingham City Council’s company Robin Hood Energy. [19] The scheme has since been sold to British Gas.

Local Authority Trading Company

In response to the 2008 financial crash and the Great Recession the then city council, under the administration of the Conservative Party, began a process of privatisation of council services. [22] From 2017 the Labour administration had begun a process taking municipal control of services that were privatised, so that all profits are reinvested into council services. [23] These services were set up and the Southampton "Local Authority Trading Company" (LATCo) was created. [24] Potential areas for the LATCo to cover include: street parking; public transport; adult and children’s transport; fleet services; housing management and operations; street cleansing; waste management; parks and open spaces; and facilities management. [25]

In 2018 the council began the process of incorporating services which Capita had provided for the council for 11 years, including "customer services, HR pay, revenues and benefits, procurement, health and safety, print, post room and IT services". This also includes the incorporation of 300 jobs under the council's LATCo. [26] [27]

Joint Committees

Southampton had sent a representative to the South East England Regional Assembly during its existence between 1998 and 2010. Created by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and based in Guildford, the voluntary assembly met six times a year and was responsible for the South East England Development Agency, a project which oversaw investment projects in the south east region. [28] The council remains a member of the South East England Councils.

Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is chaired by several businesses, universities and councils including Southampton City Council and primarily focuses on economic growth in the Hampshire region. [29] The Solent LEP's Growth Hub is based in Southampton. [30] There was an ambition to create a combined authority for the South Hampshire area, including Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight which would include the potential for a combined authority mayor. [31] This program was controversial, [32] and was finally blocked by Hampshire County Council in 2017. [33] There continues to be interest in partnership between Southampton City Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and neighbouring components of other Hampshire districts (New Forest District Council and Test Valley Borough Council). [34] [35]

Southampton City Council is also a founding member of the 'Key Cities' group. It is a lobbying group of 24 other cities across Great Britain, formed in 2013, that lobbies the government for greater devolution and funding [36] [37] [38]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [39] [40]

Lower-tier non-metropolitan district

Party in controlYears
Labour 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1984
Labour 1984–1987
No overall control 1987–1988
Labour 1988–1997

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
Labour 1997–2000
No overall control 2000–2008
Conservative 2008–2012
Labour 2012–2021
Conservative 2021–2022
Labour 2022–present

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial in Southampton, with a different councillor usually being appointed to the role each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
John Arnold [41] Labour 19961999
June Bridle [42] Labour 19992003
Adrian Vinson [42] Liberal Democrats 2003May 2007
Alec Samuels [43] [44] Conservative 16 May 200720 Feb 2008
June Bridle [45] [46] Labour 20 Feb 2008May 2008
Alec Samuels [47] Conservative 14 May 2008Jul 2010
Royston Smith [48] [49] Conservative 14 Jul 2010May 2012
Richard Williams [50] [51] Labour 16 May 201225 Apr 2013
Jacqui Rayment [52] [53] Labour 25 Apr 201315 May 2013
Simon Letts [54] [55] Labour 15 May 2013May 2018
Christopher Hammond [56] [57] Labour 16 May 2018May 2021
Daniel Fitzhenry [58] [59] Conservative 19 May 2021May 2022
Satvir Kaur [60] [61] Labour 18 May 202220 Dec 2023
Lorna Fielker [62] [63] Labour 3 Jan 2024

Composition

Following the by-election in Shirley in 2024 the composition of the council was: [64]

PartyCouncillors
Labour 35
Conservative 10
Liberal Democrats 5
Green 1
Total51

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council comprises 51 councillors representing 17 wards, with three councillors being elected for each ward. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. The wards are: [65]

Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre, which was purpose-built for the council in phases between 1928 and 1939. [66]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampshire</span> County of England

Hampshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. The city of Southampton is the largest settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampshire County Council</span> British administrative body and municipal art collection

Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. The county council acts as the upper tier of local government to approximately 1.4 million people. It is one of 21 county councils in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basingstoke and Deane</span> Borough and non-metropolitan district in England

Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. The main town is Basingstoke, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Tadley and Whitchurch, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The modern district was created in 1974, initially being called Basingstoke. It changed its name to "Basingstoke and Deane" in 1978 at the same time that it was made a borough; Deane was added to the name to represent the rural parts of the borough, being the area's smallest village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool City Council</span> Local government body in England

Liverpool City Council is the local authority for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Test Valley</span> Borough and non-metropolitan district in England

Test Valley is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. The council is based in the borough's largest town of Andover. The borough also contains the town of Romsey and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. A small part of the borough at its southern end lies within the New Forest National Park, and part of the borough north of Andover lies within the North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Eastleigh</span> Non-metropolitan borough and borough in England

The Borough of Eastleigh is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. It is named after its main town of Eastleigh, where the council is based. The borough also contains the town of Hedge End along with several villages, many of which form part of the South Hampshire urban area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Fareham</span> Non-metropolitan district and borough in England

The Borough of Fareham is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Fareham. Other places within the borough include Portchester, Hill Head, Sarisbury, Stubbington, Titchfield and Warsash. The borough covers much of the semi-urban area between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation. The neighbouring districts are Eastleigh, Winchester, Portsmouth and Gosport. The district's southern boundary is the coast of the Solent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Winchester</span> Place in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Forest District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Hampshire</span> Conurbation in Hampshire, southern England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gosport Borough Council</span>

Gosport Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Gosport, in the county of Hampshire, England. The council consists of 28 councillors, two or three for each of the 14 wards in the town. It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, led by Peter Chegwyn. The borough council is based at Gosport Town Hall.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton</span> City in Hampshire, England

Southampton is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately 80 miles (130 km) southwest of London, 20 miles (32 km) west of Portsmouth, and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253,651 at the 2011 census, making it one of the most populous cities in southern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth City Council</span> Local authority of the city of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined authorities and combined county authorities</span> Type of local government institution in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole</span> Unitary authority area in Dorset, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampshire and the Solent Combined Authority</span> Proposed local government body in England

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Footnotes