Local government is responsible for a range of vital services for people and businesses in defined areas. Among them are well known functions such as social care, schools, housing and planning and waste collection, but also lesser known ones such as licensing, business support, registrar services and pest control. In England, more than one million people work in local government across a range of different types of authorities, providing more than 800 different services to local communities.
Every country needs a government to make decisions and get things done. These can be decisions about where to build roads and schools, or how to reduce the price of onions when they get too expensive or ways to increase the supply of electricity. The government also takes action on many social issues, for example it has several programmes to help the poor. It does other important things such as running postal and railway services.
