Local Government - where to find your job!
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Some of the terminology used can be confusing. Different expressions are used interchangeably and may have different meaning according to the context. Local government - in common with its counterpart in Whitehall - also loves abbreviations, and many job advertisements are littered with acronyms which have little meaning to the outsider.
The term 'local government' is generally accepted to mean a publicly-funded, elected body which has decision-making and spending powers. In most cases, this simply means your local council.
Local councils, rather like the Government, consist of two different sets of people working together for a common purpose. The first are the Councillors, who, like Members of Parliament, are elected in local elections. Unlike MPs, however, most councillors receive no salary - just a small allowance and some expenses. Councillors may belong to a political party or they may be independent. They are not employees of the Council. Rather like a Board of Directors, they oversee the organisation of the Council they belong to and decide its policy direction.
The second set of people working in a local authority are the employees - almost always referred to as the 'officers' of the authority. They are employed by the Council to carry out the policies that the Council decides are important. This group of people will form the focus of the rest of this article.
