North East Lincolnshire Council is the local authority of North East Lincolnshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county council and district council combined. It was established on 1 April 1996 on the abolition of Humberside County Council, Great Grimsby Borough Council and Cleethorpes Borough Council.[2] The council provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority.[3]

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, North East Lincolnshire is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, North East Lincolnshire 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 July 2017 it was announced that the Council and the local Clinical Commissioning Group would have a joint chief executive.[4]

Governance

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2019.

The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:[5]

Party in control Years
Labour 1996–2003
No overall control 2003–2012
Labour 2012–2014
No overall control 2014–2019
Conservative 2019–2024
No overall control 2024–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in North East Lincolnshire. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2015 have been:[6]

Councillor Party From To
Ray Oxby[7] Labour May 2015 11 Mar 2019
Philip Jackson Conservative 21 May 2019

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:[8]

Party Councillors
Conservative 19
Labour 15
Liberal Democrats 3
Independent 5
Total 42

The next election is due in 2026.

Premises

Municipal Buildings, Town Hall Square

Council meetings are held at Grimsby Town Hall, which had been built in 1863 for the old borough council of Great Grimsby.[9] The council's main offices are in the Municipal Buildings opposite the town hall, which had been completed in 1941.[10][11]

Elections

See also: North East Lincolnshire Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 42 councillors representing 15 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council elected each time for a four-year term of office.[12]

Wards

The wards are:[12]

Wider politics

The borough straddles the parliamentary constituencies of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Rob Walsh, CEO North East Lincolnshire Council and NHS North East Lincolnshire CCG". Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  2. ^ The Humberside (Structural Change) Order 1995, SI 1995/600
  3. ^ North East Lincolnshire Council
  4. ^ "CCG and council appoint 'first of its kind' joint chief". Health Service Journal. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Council minutes". North East Lincolnshire Council. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  7. ^ Parsons, Rob (11 March 2019). "North East Lincolnshire council leader Ray Oxby blames verbal abuse as he resigns with immediate effect". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  8. ^ "North East Lincolnshire result - Local Elections 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Town Hall (1379888)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Tonight's gossip". Grimsby Daily Telegraph. 30 April 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 3 July 2023. To-morrow will see the official opening of Grimsby's new municipal buildings...
  11. ^ "Contact Us". North East Lincolnshire Council. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  12. ^ a b "The Borough of North East Lincolnshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2001", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2001/3361, retrieved 3 July 2023
  13. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 July 2023.

External links