Local authorities are democratically elected bodies of representatives from the local community who, with the support of paid officials, fulfil the following duties:

• provide a range of services for local residents
• administer regulations that control the activities of businesses and service providers in the local area

In England, the structure of local authorities around the country is varied and complex. Your group may be influenced by a county, city, borough or district council, or a unitary authority.

In Wales, the Local Government in Wales Act introduced a single tier of local authorities, replacing the previous two-tier county and district council structure. There are now twenty-two 'unitary' authorities in Wales, known variously as ‘county councils’ or ‘county borough councils’.

For further information about the structure and role of local authorities, visit the Directgov website.

A duty to consult

The Disability Equality Duty (DED) came into force in December 2006. Its purpose is to ensure that all public bodies – including central and local Government, schools, health trusts and emergency services – pay ’due regard‘ to the promotion of equality for disabled people in every area of their work.

The former Disability Rights Commission (DRC) published a range of guidance explaining how the Disability Equality Duty (DED) should affect the way in which public services are run. One of the key documents, which is specifically aimed at disabled people, is entitled Making the Duty Work. This can be downloaded from the DRC’s archived website.

This publication aims to support the successful implementation of the DED, and encourage the participation of disabled people in this process. It explains:

• how disabled people and their organisations can expect to be involved
• what disabled people can do to help public authorities achieve effective involvement

The guidance includes useful tips and questions that disabled people should ask during the development of the action plans, and during the scheme’s monitoring and review stages.