London's local and regional government

There are two levels of local government in London.

Firstly there are the 32 London boroughs. They each have a council which is elected every four years by local residents. In total there are 1,861 councillors across London representing 7.5 million residents.

The councils are responsible for running most local services in their areas, such as:

• education
• social services
• housing and regeneration
• waste collection
• recycling
• roads and street lighting.

These are mainly funded through payments from central government and the collection of council tax, although council tax only makes up about 25 per cent of a council's income.

But over recent years the role of councils has changed. They now have additional responsibilities, such as improving the health and well-being of local people through joint working with health services.