Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Your council

Stockton Council delivers many services in a thriving area of the Tees Valley that includes Billingham, Stockton, Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick, Yarm and surrounding areas. In this section of our website, you can find about Stockton Borough Council, who your councillor is, and see how we match up to our key targets for performance.

Our aim

Stockton on Tees Borough Council is your Council. We exist to ensure you receive services which benefit and improve your lives. We will respond to your needs, provide opportunities and support you to build on your strengths.

We do everything from maintaining the roads, teaching schoolchildren, organising leisure events to emptying your refuse bins. We offer social services to those who rely on them, lend thousands of books through local libraries and much more besides.

Over 7,000 people are employed by Stockton Council to provide a vast array of services for over 186,000 people who live and work in the Borough, making us the area's biggest employer.

Services are delivered to you by our paid employees, who are organised into services and locally-elected Councillors make the decisions to ensure our services respond to your needs.

History of Stockton Council

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has been responsible for all local authority services in the Borough since April 1996, when it became an all-purpose "unitary" Council. The evolution into this organisation has been centuries in the making.

Long-vanished authorities such as Stockton Rural District Council, Billingham Urban District Council, Thornaby-on-Tees Borough Council have all have formed stepping stones in Stockton's local government history which spans eight centuries or more.

See the full history of Stockton Council. 

Cabinet and Councillors

Decisions on on the councils policies and plans are made by a Cabinet of Councillors, which meets every four weeks. It is able to plan services and take decisions which effect a broad range of services. The Cabinet is made up of the Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader and up to seven other Councillors, each responsible for a particular area of work.

Although most Cabinet meetings take place at Stockton Central Library, the Cabinet sometimes meets in different areas of the Borough to give more residents the opportunity to attend. To inform people of key decisions to be considered by the Cabinet over the coming four months, a Cabinet Forward Plan is published and is updated monthly. 

Current Cabinet Members

Councillors

Local Councillors are the people elected every four years to represent people's interests in local affairs.

Each Councillor represents a small area, or ward, and those who live within that area. The Borough of Stockton has 26 Wards, 56 Councillors with between one and three Councillors representing each.

Councillors are responsible for setting the Council's policies and making the important decisions on how services are provided at regular meetings of the Council, the Cabinet and Committees.

Most Councillors arrange regular Ward Surgeries or, if they do not, will be able to arrange a suitable appointment where you can informally discuss problems or other matters concerning your neighbourhood.

See further information regarding local Councillors and council meetings.

Political make up of Council

The current political make up of the Council is shown in the following table -

See the full list of members and committee information.

Corporate Management Team (CMT)

CMT is Stockton Borough Council's main officer decision-making body and works alongside and for the councillors elected to run the Council's key public services.

CMT comprises the following officers -

• Chief Executive
• Corporate Director of Children, Education & Social Care
• Corporate Director of Development & Neighbourhood Services
• Corporate Director of Resources
• Director of Law & Democracy
• Head of Policy, Improvement and Engagement
• Head of Communications and Human Resources
• Director of Public Health

Employees

The headcount figure relates to the actual number of employees and the FTE figure relates to the number of full time equivalent staff.

Including schools 31st March 2012

Full time equivalent employees - 5,624.60

Excluding schools 31st March 2012

Full time equivalent employees - 2,873.60

Contact the Council

There are lots of ways to get in touch with Stockton Council - online, by phone, by post or in person.

By phone, fax or minicom

You can contact Stockton Council Customer Services by phoning our main switchboard on (01642) 393939), fax on (01642) 524800 or minicom on (01642) 605569.

Email

Contact us by email at customercomments@stockton.gov.uk, alternatively email the relevant customer service you require by visiting customer services...online.

By post

The postal address for our main offices is:
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Municipal Buildings
PO Box 11
Church Road
Stockton-on-Tees
TS18 1LD

Online

Have your say and leave your commendations, comments and complaints by following the commendations, comments and complaints process.

In person

Many of our services can be accessed through our Customer Services Centres -
Stockton Customer Services Centre (inside Stockton Central Library)
Thornaby Customer Serivces Centre (inside Thornaby Library)