What is the difference between a constituency and a region

You can contact any of the MLAs who represent you to ask questions about issues that are important to you. You can speak over the phone, by email, or face to face when they hold an open meeting in your area.

Or, you can watch debates and meetings live or on catch-up. Your local council makes decisions about these issues and many more that affect you on a daily basis. You might also hear local councils be called local government or local authorities. There are 11 local councils in Northern Ireland, made up of councillors who are elected every four years.

You are usually represented by three to seven councillors. If you want to make a complaint or bring up an issue with one of your local councillors. The UK Parliament makes decisions about some aspects of how the UK is run and makes laws that affect our lives. Its roles include:. You normally elect your MP every five years.

Your MP may split their time between work at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster in London and local work in your area. But you can only start to vote when you turn Every 10 years, a piece of work is carried out to make sure that the electoral register in Northern Ireland is up to date.

This is called the canvass. All voters are asked to register to vote so that their details are accurate. All you need is your National Insurance number. If you have any questions about the electoral register or registering to vote, you should contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. You must only vote at one address in Northern Ireland Assembly elections and UK Parliament elections but you can choose which area to vote in.

There are different types of councils in England. The type of council you have depends on where you live. If you live in one of the larger cities in England, like London, Birmingham, or Manchester, you will have a London borough or metropolitan district council. These types of councils cover all local services. They may cover a bigger area than just one town or city. For example North Lincolnshire and North Somerset are both unitary authorities.

Typically, if you live in a rural or semi-rural area, your local government will be split into two. A district council is responsible for more locally-based services like rubbish and recycling, tourism, and support for local businesses.

Find out what kind of councils you have. As well as these councils, there are thousands of parish and town councils in England. These councils look after services for a small area, like allotments, public halls, pathway lighting and litter bins.

They often need permission from the larger council in your area to provide certain services. Some areas also have an elected mayor who has powers in their area. Other areas may only have a civic mayor who is ceremonial with has no real powers and is not elected. You might see them opening new roads or businesses or holding open days at council offices. If you want to make a complaint or bring up an issue with your elected representative, you need to know which council is responsible for your area and which council is responsible for that service.

The UK Parliament make decisions which affect the whole of the UK, as well as some which are specific only to England. The UK is currently divided into constituencies. You can contact your MP to ask them questions.

Each region is represented by 7 MSPs. Note: Please do not provide any personal, identifiable or financial information. The limit is 1, characters. At Scottish Parliament elections, every voter has two votes: one for their constituency and one for their region. Regional MSPs are allocated seats using a formula which takes into account the number of constituency seats that an individual or party has already won in that region, as well as the number of regional votes they received.

Details of the Allowances Scheme, the current allowance and expenses rates, and the actual allowances claimed by MSPs can be accessed from the MSPs section of the website. If these photos are not suitable, you should contact the office of the specific MSP, using the contact details provided on the relevant MSP's page. Requests for photographs of Cabinet Secretaries or Ministers should be addressed to the Scottish Government.

If you wish to email a number of MSPs, you will have to contact them individually. A list of email addresses for all MSPs can be found in a fact sheet on our website. It is possible to ask our mail room to distribute documents to a number of MSPs. Please place each letter or document in an envelope with the name of the relevant MSP on the outside; you can then post these as a single package.

If you wish to send a document to all MSPs, it is not necessary to put each one in a separate envelope, but please enclose copies. Please read the FrankandHonest. Sponsor frankandhonest. We provide training for young people and organisations working with young people. This site was created in response to countless requests from young people for a place to get answers. Life » Change the World!