Local elections 2022: How do Plymouth and Exeter councils spend your money?

26 April 2022

Local elections will be held in Devon on Thursday 5 May.

A third of the seats on both the 57-seat Plymouth and 39-seat Exeter city councils are up for election.

Local authorities are funded by a variety of sources, including council tax, government grants and other income, like parking charges.

Ahead of the poll, the BBC has examined how £100 of your money is spent by these councils:

Exeter City Council

The council serves a population of 128,900 and is at the centre of a travel to work area of more than 470,000 residents, according to the authority.

It is responsible for services including housing and planning.

Labour currently enjoys a comfortable majority on Exeter City Council with 24 councillors.

The Conservatives are trailing behind with six, the Lib Dems and the Greens each have two, there is one Independent and four vacant seats.

The council serves a population of about 262,800 and is responsible for services including waste collection and planning.

Plymouth is the only place in the region where local elections are routinely a close contest between the Conservatives and Labour.

At the moment Labour has 23 seats with the Conservatives holding 22.

There are also 12 Independents, nine of whom previously sat as Conservatives while three were formerly Labour councillors.

A minority Conservative administration - relying on support from some of the Independents - has run the council since the last election.

Across England, more than 4,000 councillors in 146 councils are up for election.

People can vote between 07:00-22:00 BST on 5 May, with postal voting and proxy votes also available.