Who Governs Hampshire?

The County of Hampshire is a large geographic area which is governed by several layers or tiers of local authority which work together to ensure the needs of the County and its people are met. The two main cities, Portsmouth and Southampton, are unitary authorities which means they are self-contained 'all purpose' Councils.

Within Hampshire each layer has its own distinct responsibilities and has elected representatives (Councillors) who oversee and make decisions about the areas they have responsibilities for.

The ‘layers’ in the County (i.e. excluding Portsmouth and Southampton) include:

• Hampshire County Council:

  is responsible for some services which operate over the whole County (such as waste disposal, social care, schools)

• District or Borough Councils:

  are responsible for some services which operate in each of 11 defined boundaries (such as waste collection, local development planning, street cleaning)

• Parish & Town Councils:

  are responsible for some local services in many smaller geographic areas such as allotments and village halls (these are usually in more rural ares - some areas do not have them)

The How We Work Together section attempts to give some clarity about how these responsibilities work together.

You can find out who has been elected to represent you at each of the different layers of government, and how to contact them, by using the links on the right-hand side of this page or the website WriteToThem.com.