Local government in Wales


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.

Governance

Local government is generally supervised by the Welsh Ministers, who allocate funding of the majority of local government yearly revenue and capital settlements. The Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the Welsh Ministers the responsibility of setting up a scheme on how they are to propose and exercise their functions for the promotion and sustainability of Welsh local government.

Principal councils

Like councils throughout the UK, Welsh councils are composed of elected councillors and local government elections normally take place every four years. The Wales Act 2017 prevents local government elections from taking place in the same year as elections to the Senedd, meaning the May 2021 local elections were postponed to May 2022. There are currently 22 principal areas in Wales, with the current configuration established in the Local Government Act 1994, enacted on 1 April 1996, while the framework was established earlier in the Local Government Act 1972. Like community councils, they are composed of councillors.
Councils are required by law to hold annual general meetings, including after their election. In this meeting the council's chair or presiding member would be elected. Some councils also elect an individual to perform civic and ceremonial duties, usually known as a mayor and deputy mayor, with some styled as lord mayor.
Council decisions may be taken by the entire council, some legally defined committees, or by the council's executive, largely made up of a majority of councillors. All principal councils in Wales have an executive leader and cabinet, although directly-elected mayor model can be adopted by a council if there is public support through a referendum. Some decisions are required by law to be voted on by the entire council, such as the council budget and the amount of council tax. Most committees must be "politically balanced", proportionally representative of the council's political make up. Councils in Wales cannot operate a "committee system" as done in England.
All principal councils have to prepare and agree on a council constitution by law. It would also have to be kept up to date, published electronically, and revised when amended.

Responsibilities

The principal councils of Wales, have responsibility and deliver over 700 local government services. These include:
  • Education – e.g. School transport and adult learning
  • Housing – e.g. Provide accommodation for people in need and maintain social housing
  • Social Care/Services – e.g. to protect and care for children, disabled and elderly people
  • Highways and Transport – maintain local roads and manage traffic flow
  • Waste Management – Waste collection and recycling
  • Leisure and Cultural Services – e.g. libraries, leisure services and arts venues
  • Consumer Protection – enforce trading standards and licensing taxis
  • Environmental Health and Services – e.g. monitoring food safety in local pubs and restaurants, control local pollution
  • Planning – manage local development and building safety
  • Economic Development – attract new businesses and encourage tourism
  • Emergency Planning – e.g. for floods or terrorist attacks

    List of principal councils

The 22 principal councils of Wales are:
At the lowest level of administrative subdivision in Wales are the communities, into which each principal area is subdivided. They may have elected community councils which perform a number of roles, such as providing local facilities, and representing their communities to larger local government bodies. Community councils are the equivalent of English parish councils. A community council may call itself a "town council" if it so wishes. The councils of three communities with city status – Bangor, St Asaph, and St Davids – are known as "city councils". Communities which are too small to have a council may have a community meeting instead: an example of direct democracy. The communities in the urban areas of the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport do not have community councils.
Every part of Wales is covered by a community. There are 878 communities in Wales, however only 734 communities have a community council. The current configuration of communities was established in the Local Government Act 1994, while the framework was established earlier in the Local Government Act 1972. Like principal councils, they are made up of councillors.
Before 1974, Wales had civil parishes, like in England, until they were replaced with communities. The communities initially followed the boundaries of the civil parishes they replaced.

Elections

Council elections in Wales are held every five years. Councils are not allowed to have more regular elections where a third of their members are elected instead. By elections can occur for councils if a seat is made vacant, such as following resignation, however by-elections cannot be held within 6 months of a council-wide election.
Each council, both principal and community, are divided into electoral wards, which are decided by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. Some wards may be represented by more than one member, and therefore are called "multi-member" wards.
Councils can choose between running their elections with the first-past-the-post voting system or the single transferable vote system. First-past-the-post has been used as the sole voting system to elect councils in Wales since their establishment in the late 19th century.
Anyone over 16 and a legal resident of Wales can vote in local government elections, when registered to vote.

Electoral wards

The principal council areas' boundaries are made from a collection of electoral wards. Each unitary authority has roughly 40 electoral wards within them on average. There are 762 electoral wards in Wales.
As of 2021, the average resident population in an electoral ward in Wales was around 4 000. More populated wards are usually in larger urban areas. If boundary changes are made to electoral wards they are usually enacted on the first Thursday in May each year, in line with local government elections.

Other local government

Fire and rescue authorities

Three fire and rescue authorities were established in Wales in 1996: Mid and West Wales Fire Authority, North Wales Fire Authority and South Wales Fire Authority. These are considered to be "local government" by the Welsh Government.
The fire authorities' powers and duties were set out in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Their core responsibilities are:
  • promoting fire safety
  • fire-fighting
  • road traffic accident response
  • handling other prescribed emergencies


  1. North Wales Fire Authority
  2. Mid and West Wales Fire Authority
  3. South Wales Fire Authority

National park authorities

There are three national park authorities in Wales, covering the country's three national parks. They are Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, Eryri National Park Authority and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. These are considered to be "local government" by the Welsh Government.
The national park authorities' responsibilities are:
  • conserving and enhancing the cultural heritage, local wildlife and natural beauty of their respective national parks.
  • the promotion of opportunities that allow for increased public enjoyment and understanding of the national parks' special qualities.


  1. Eryri National Park Authority
  2. Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority
  3. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority

Regional governance

There are various forms of strategic partnerships covering regions of Wales, which bring together members of various public services. These include members of the principal councils, national park authorities, fire authorities, health boards, and town and community councils. As well as Corporate Joint Committees.

Corporate Joint Committees

The Local Government and Elections Act 2021 allowed for the formation of corporate joint committees made up of two or more principal areas. CJCs have powers relating to economic well-being, strategic planning and the development of regional transport policies. There are four CJCs, covering Mid Wales, North Wales, South East Wales, and South West Wales. These are considered to be "local government" by the Welsh Government.
The joint committee's areas are conterminous with the partnership economic areas established by the same councils as part of city deals and growth deals, which they were later given the responsibility to oversee. City deals have been agreed for the Cardiff Capital Region and Swansea Bay City Region, which cover south-east and south-west Wales respectively, and growth deals have been agreed for Mid Wales and North Wales.
In Wales, there are various strategic partnerships comprising members of multiple public services, such as local authorities, health board, fire and rescue authorities, national park authorities, and town and community councils.