What can an MP help with?

The initials MP stand for ‘Member of Parliament’. MP’s represent everybody located in the South West Hertfordshire constituency and their concerns. To find out which constituency you are in, go to https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP and type in your postcode to find your MP. The ‘modern’ notion of an MP was codified by the Great Reform Act of 1832 (though prior to this there is a wealth of political history for which further reading is required). The gradual process of expanding the franchise continued until the last Reform Act of 1928 which gave all men and women age 21 and above the vote, regardless of wealth. This was lowered to 18 in 1969. There have been many boundary changes to constituencies during this time. See https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/ for more details on this.

In the 21st Century, with the advent of mass communication and social media, there has been a minor revolution in the role of an MP. However the issues constituents could/should write to their MP about include: tax problems involving HM Revenue and Customs, problems with local hospitals and the NHS, problems with benefits, pensions, national insurance, immigration issues and school closures and grants (but not day to day problems in schools).

What is a council? Which council level should I contact when?

Council is a broad term to describe the various branches of local government. Councils deal with all the other issues that are outside of an MP’s jurisdiction. In England, local government either operates under a one tier system (unitary authorities) where local government is merged into one council or more commonly, a three-tier system (county, district and town/parish councils).  You can find out who your local council is by inputting your postcode here: https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council .

County Councils

This type of council covers the whole of the county e.g. Hertfordshire County Council. They are responsible for your county’s: education, highways, transport planning, passenger transport, social care, libraries, fire and public safety, waste disposal and strategic planning. You should go to your county council with a broad issue effecting the county as a whole.

District Councils

Each county is divided into several districts. In the Constituency of South West Hertfordshire for example there are two districts: Three Rivers District Council and Dacorum. They cover a smaller area than county councils and focus on more local services. They may be called borough councils or city councils if the district has borough or city status. Their responsibilities include; housing, leisure and recreation, environmental health, waste collection, recycling, planning applications and local taxation collections.

Town and Parish Councils

The final and most local tier of government are town and parish councils e.g. Croxley Green Parish Council or the Sarrat Parish Council. These are responsible for smaller services such as parks, community centres, allotments and war memorials, litter, bus shelters, play areas and play equipment, graffiti, fly posting and dog offences.

Contact details for County and District Councils in South West Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire County Council contact details

 

Three Rivers District Council contact details

 

Dacorum District Council contact details

Examples of constituent concerns

  1. I have a concern about the UK Government’s response to Coronavirus? We suggest you make your concerns clear to your MP by emailing [email protected]

 

  1. Our local library is shutting odd days in the week without any explanation as to why? This issue should be raised with the County Council as they are responsible for issues relating to local libraries. For South West Hertfordshire constituents, this would be Hertfordshire County Council.

 

  1. The bin men are erratic and keep missing me off their delivery route- who do I complain to? If this is the case than contact your local District Council and the matter up with them. This is because it is your district council who are responsible for household bin collection. This could be the Three Rivers District Council or Dacorum District Council for example.

 

  1. My local bus shelter is continuously being graffitied, what should I do? If this is the case, then contact your most local form of council which in most cases will be your Town/Parish Council as they take responsibility for the most local issues e.g. if the bus shelter is in Croxley Green, then you should contact the Croxley Green Parish Council.

 

Useful Links

 

 

See Also

About Gagan

  Before becoming your Member of Parliament, I had what could be regarded as a traditional career path – school; university; a job in finance and then working in my family’s furniture business.