The council is one of the largest employers in the area, with over 10,000 employees, who provide over 600 services to over 143,000 households and businesses in towns, villages and hamlets covering some 930 square miles.
These include social care for the elderly and vulnerable, the construction and maintenance of roads, parks and other infrastructure, planning and building control services, waste collection, environmental health services, the provision of schools, libraries and museums, as well as many other local services.
Like all large public sector organisations, we manage our resources very carefully and aim to do more with less money. Since 2010, the government has reduced our funding significantly and we have had to make tough decisions in order to meet this challenge.