Dorset County Council

The third, and by far the largest, tier of local government is the County Council. It is responsible for overseeing the administration of public services across the County. These services include education, social services, highways, libraries, waste management, planning and development, together with a host of other services. Its net annual expenditure for 1999 is some £250,000,000. This sum is raised from domestic council tax (40%), by grant from central government (28%), and from non-domestic (business) tax (32%). The County Council employs some 12,000 staff (a mix of full time and part time); amounting to 7,340 ‘full time equivalent’ staff.

District and parish councils and the police and fire authorities are administered individually and separately, deriving their revenues in part from the council tax.

The level of council tax is based on the value of the dwelling occupied by the taxpayer. The level of tax for the ‘average’ house-owner (for a dwelling valued in the range £68,000-£88,000) is, for 1999, £803.

The political affiliation of County Councillors is of greater significance at County Council level than at the more local levels. Policies assume a greater political significance and the Council often divides on party lines. Currently, the Liberal Party has a majority on the Council with 21 seats; the Conservative Party has 15 seats, the Labour Party has 5 seats and there is one Independent Councillor.

Broadmayne is part of the Ward known as Dorchester Rural South. This area covers a wide swathe of villages stretching from Tincleton in the east to Martinstown in the west; it takes in the larger populated areas of Broadmayne, Crossways and Chickerell. We are very fortunate in being very ably represented by our Conservative county councillor, Mr David Crowhurst. Mr Crowhurst is involved in a wide range of issues from the personal cases of particular individuals to the broader issues of roads and the environment. He takes a particular interest in health, social services, and special needs schools and sits on a number of the council committees.

John Foxwell