Southampton is a Unitary Council. This means that the Council is responsible for all local services and functions within its area. Such services include social services, education, planning and highways matters amongst others. Southampton has 48 Councillors and operates under a Leader and Cabinet model of executive arrangements.
The Leader and the Cabinet oversee the work of the Council and make most of the major decisions of the Council.
In addition to the decisions made by the Leader and Cabinet members, other members make decisions in relation to specific matters such as planning and licensing as well as looking in detail at the decisions made by the Leader and Cabinet members so that they can be held accountable for the decisions they make.
The current political composition in Southampton is:
Conservative 16
Labour 30
Liberal Democrat 2
Southampton City Council
