About the council
Bristol is the largest city in the south west of England, covering an area of 110 square kilometers. It is the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom and one of the 11 Core Cities. It has a population of around 479,000.
We provide hundreds of day-to-day services to support people who live or work in Bristol. We are a successful city with much to be proud of but, like all cities, we have our challenges. The city’s success doesn’t reach everyone living here and this brings some difficult issues.
We have an ambitious vision to build a better Bristol that includes everyone in the city’s success and leaves no one behind. That’s why we’re looking for innovative and talented individuals who can help us achieve this vision. We want people who share our values and commitment to serve the city, its communities and citizens.
We are here to support the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Bristol alongside many other local, regional and national organisations. In fact, we all have a role to play.
In recent years we have developed closer working relationships with a wider variety of partners across the city and region, recognising that no organisation alone can make the kind of major changes needed to create a truly inclusive, sustainable and healthy city. Together we have created a long-term vision until 2050 and a shared set of goals in the One City Plan.
Our vision aligns closely to this, and our Corporate Strategy focuses more on the council’s own contribution and ways of working: the elements of the city-wide plan where we deliver actions ourselves or play a leading role in bringing partners and communities together.
Bristol has always been a city of contrasts: a diverse, culturally vibrant and economically successful city, yet 15% of its citizens are living in some of the most deprived areas in England. Our annual Quality of Life Survey indicates that inequality and deprivation continue to affect people’s experience in almost every element measured by the survey.
We serve a population of 479,000 that is likely to have increased by over 40,000 in the past decade. The Office for National Statistics’ most recent official projections predict population growth of 13,600 over the coming five years. Along with the projected impact on people’s health and wealth inequality, this creates a huge challenge, especially considering existing gaps in healthy life expectancy.
We do not yet know the full scale of the pandemic’s impact, but our medium-term forecasts – based on the expected reductions in Government funding, lost income and increased demand for vital services – signal the potential for significant budgetary pressures. We don’t yet know exactly how accurate this forecast is but whatever happens we will need to effectively balance our budget, be resilient to shocks, manage external risks, manage changes and increased service demand, all within a limited funding envelope that is more uncertain than ever.
We are also tackling the major challenges facing cities across the world, including climate change, ecological deterioration, mass migration, and economic uncertainty. There are also local challenges where we and others have not done well enough in the past It is important we don’t lose sight of delivering strong local services that contribute to tackling inequality across the city in all its forms.
Doing so will help improve people’s quality of life and have a beneficial impact on our mental and physical health, along with the council’s financial bottom line. Whatever the challenges, there is still room for hope and aspiration.
Poltical makeup
Number of councillors in Bristol and in each political party
Councillors make decisions on how to improve local services on behalf of local people. They serve for a four year term.
The people of Bristol are represented by one, two or three councillors for each of the city’s 34 wards. There are 70 councillors in total.
Number of councillors for each party
Conservative Party: 7
Green Party: 34
Labour Party: 20
Liberal Democrats: 8
Our Services
Core Services:
The following core services are provided by the council:
Adults, Children, Education and Public Health:
- Education, Learning and Skills Improvement
- Safeguarding vulnerable adults and children
- Social care and support for adults
including the elderly - Support for carers Commissioning services
- Public Health General Fund
- Coordinates Bristol’s response to crime, community safety and antisocial behaviour
Growth & Regeneration
- Museums and Culture
- Property
- Economic development
- Energy services
- Library services
- Community Services Parks and open spaces
- Licensing
- Housing and Landlord Services
Resources:
Provides internal support and enabling services including:
- Digital Transformation and ICT
- Finance, Workforce and Change
- Policy Strategy and Communications
- Legal and Democratic Services
Ring-fenced Accounts:
Housing Revenue Account:
- Accounts for the management and maintenance of around 26,833 council homes in Bristol.
Dedicated Schools Grant:
- Grant funding the majority of the council’s expenditure on schools and supporting children with additional and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The grant can only be used to meet expenditure properly included in the schools budget.
Public Health:
- An annual ring fenced grant from the Department of Health. Funds the council’s statutory duties to improve public health.
We work with local partners (including charities, businesses and other public services providers like the police and the NHS) as well as residents to determine and deliver local priorities. Typically councils like us provide over 700 services, either directly ourselves or by commissioning
services from outside organisations.
Our Leadership and Workforce:
Our 70 elected councillors represent the people of Bristol and set the overall policy of the council.
- Mayor, Marvin Rees, elected mayor for Bristol, with city council responsibilities that include ultimate responsibility for all major policy decisions, setting the vision and direction of the council; and making ‘executive’ decisions within the budget and policy framework set by Full Council.
- Our workforce – Overall, our workforce comprises 6,517 ‘full time equivalent’ employees. Of this total, 2,689 are employed within our locally maintained schools.
The One City Plan:
The One City Approach brings together a wide range of public, private, and third sector partners within Bristol. They share an aim to make Bristol a fair, healthy and sustainable city. The One City Plan describes where we want to be by 2050, and how city partners will work together.
Governance:
- We are responsible for conducting our business in accordance with the law and ensuring that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently and effectively. We are committed to the highest standards of conduct, progressing towards the city’s vision with robust controls over the use of resources, intelligent and open decision making, and accountability and transparency.
- We have set out our governance standards in our Code of Corporate Governance, which explains how the vision and values of the organisation are at the heart of the Council’s approach to governance. The CIPFA Financial Management code sets the professional standard for good and sustainable financial management to which local authorities must comply.
- Our Annual Governance Statement reviews the extent to which we have met the standards in both codes, and describes the progress made throughout the year in addressing our key governance challenges and areas for further improvement action.