County council

Principal among these duties were the maintenance of highways and bridges, the upkeep and inspection of lunatic asylums and the appointment of coroners.

The new bodies also took over some duties from poor law boards of guardians in relation to diseases of cattle and from the justices of the peace to regulate explosives.

Most of the council was directly elected: each county was divided by the Local Government Board for Ireland into district electoral divisions, each returning a single councillor for a three-year term.

In addition urban districts were to form electoral divisions: depending on population they could return multiple county councillors.

The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 introduced proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote to county councils, elected from multi-member electoral areas.

The Irish Free State inherited the local authorities created by the United Kingdom legislation.

Following local government reforms in the 1970s, county councils no longer exist in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

In England they generally form the top level in a two-tier system of administration; in Wales they are unitary authorities.

That decade also saw the privatisation of some traditional services, such as highway maintenance, cleaning and school meals.

c. 41), largely taking over the administrative functions of the unelected county courts of quarter sessions.

[7] The new system was a major modernisation, which reflected the increasing range of functions carried out by local government in late Victorian Britain.

A major accretion of powers took place when education was added to county council responsibilities in 1902.

[13] In addition two pairs of administrative counties were merged to become Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely and Huntingdon and Peterborough under recommendations made by the Local Government Commission for England.

The post of county alderman was abolished, and the entire council was thereafter directly elected every four years.

Cornwall, Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire became unitary authorities providing all services.

Other county councils remained unchanged, particularly in the heavily populated parts of England such as the south-east.

Further minor local government reforms took place in 2019–20, which led to Dorset and Buckinghamshire also becoming unitary authorities providing all services.

Following partition, six administrative counties remained within the United Kingdom as part of Northern Ireland.

Electoral districts were redrawn, and a property qualification for voters (Plural voting) introduced, ensuring Unionist controlled councils in counties with Nationalist majorities.

A district committee of the county councillors elected for the area were an independent local council for some administrative purposes.

The county and district councils were abolished twenty-two years later, when the present system of principal areas was introduced.

It is typically composed of elected officials who are responsible for making decisions about the county's budget, infrastructure, and services.

County councils are typically responsible for providing services to their constituents, such as libraries, parks, and other recreational facilities.

County councils are also responsible for providing services to the elderly, disabled, and other vulnerable populations.

County councils are typically responsible for providing services to the environment, such as water and air quality, and for protecting natural resources.

County councils are also responsible for providing services to businesses, such as economic development and job training.