Services & Council Contacts

Leicestershire County Council in the East Midlands covers seven district council areas. The main centres of population in the county are market towns, but the population is split between a few geographically small urban areas, extensive suburban areas and a range of rural settlements. The county includes the towns of Loughborough and Melton Mowbray to the north, Market Harborough to the southeast and Hinckley and Ashby-de-la Zouch to the west.

The county council has had its current administrative boundaries since 1997, when Leicester City and Rutland both became unitary authorities. The council has 55 members and the political composition of the council is 31 Conservatives, 13 Labour and 11 Liberal Democrats.

The council has a leader and cabinet model which was introduced in 1999, with formal adoption in 2001. In addition, a scrutiny commission, several scrutiny committees and a number of regulatory bodies were formed. At officer level, the council has reformed its structure into six departments. These departments which either provide support, or support the provision of services to local people, are Chief Executive's, Community Services, Children & Young People's Service, Highways, Transportation and Waste Management, Resources and Adult Social Care Service.

The budget for the council is about £280m, and approximately 15,000 staff are employed in delivering council services. These services include Education, Social Care, Highways, Waste Management and Community Services which includes the Libraries, Museums and Country Parks Services for the County.