The law requires us to provide some services.
We decide the amount of resources given to these depending on the level of need or risk they present.
Statutory Duties
Statutory Duties are those which we are required by law to carry out. Some of these statutory responsibilities include:
- Organising local and national elections
- Compiling and maintaining the Register of Electors
- Homeless strategy and homelessness prevention
- Housing Advice
- Housing registers, including the self-build register
- Refugees
- Housing benefits
- Environmental health
- Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates collection
- Waste collection and recycling
- Street cleansing
- Food safety, food export certificates and water sampling
- Food Hygiene rating scheme
- Health and Safety
- Building Control (in partnership with Devon Building Control Partnership)
- Licensing of taxis, gambling premises, alcohol and entertainment licencing, temporary events, animal activities, skin piercing and scrap metal dealers.
- Local plans and development management (outside the Dartmoor National Park area)
- Issuing Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)
Discretionary Services
We keep a balance between essential services and the other services communities want or need. These services we choose to provide but are not required to by law. Some of the Discretionary services that we currently provide include:
- Council-owned car parks
- Planning enforcement
- Promoting economic development
- Providing some grants to voluntary organisations
- Maintaining some parks and gardens
- Looking after council-owned parks and open spaces
- Some public toilets (some are owned by the local parish or town council)
Devon County Council
Many local services are provided by Devon County Council. These include:
- Adult social care and children's services, including fostering and adoption
- Registrar services for births, marriages and deaths
- Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults
- Education including primary and secondary school admissions, free school meals and school transport
- Emergency planning, for severe weather events, accidents or health emergencies
- Transport and most highways (including potholes)
- Road safety and maintenance
- Footpaths and Bridleways
- Flood risk
- Community safety partnership
- Consumer protection
- Libraries
For a helpful guide to see what services we provide at a glance you can download and print the following document:
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Document