Birmingham & Black Country

Local elections 2026
Local elections 2026

What does a council do in England?

A quick guide to the different types of local authorities and the services they are responsible for.

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The video playlist

Watch our pick of standout clips from Birmingham and the Black Country

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BBC Sounds: From Birmingham & Black Country

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  1. A woman in a police officer's uniform and hat grins with her arm in the air, while hugging a young blonde girl in red armbands who smiles at her.

  2. A bald man with beard stood against a light green studio wall. He is wearing a camel coloured jacket and black top

  3. Sean Egan, pictured with a neutral expression on his face. He is bald but has a dark blonde beard, he wears a black t-shirt underneath a beige jacket.

  4. A green space with grass and wildflowers with purple petals. In the distance is a blue metro tram at a tram stop

  5. Two women, a man and a child buying toys in the toy department of Rackhams, Birmingham, West Midlands. December 1974.

  6. A man and woman stand together looking at the camera. He has short grey hair and a moustache, and wears a black padded coat with a red lining and a maroom jumper underneath. His wife has blonde shoulder length hair and sunglasses on her head. She has a brown padded coat on, a cream jumper underneath and a necklace. Behind them is a row of shops and a main road.

  7. A couple pose for a picture - the woman on the left has long blonde hair and a light-pink dress. The man has short brown hair, a blue jacket and white shirt. There is an old stone building behind them.

  8. A black man sat a tram stop in a black coat and hat. He is talking to a female BBC reporter with blonde hair. She is wearing a black gillet and faded blue jeans. A blue Midlands Metro tram is passing by

  9. A small church with symmetrical blue doors and pointed arches at the front. There are several cars parked alongside the church on the road.

  10. Monty Panesar has a black headscarf on and wears black glasses. He has black facial hair and is wearing a teal coloured t-shirt with a Twickenham Cricket Club logo on its breast. It is raining around him

  11. A wooden ship's wheel and compasses on display on a fake wooden floor with a fake ship display behind it.

  12. A man with short grey hair, a short beard and mustache is wearing a blue jumper with a grey shirt underneath. He is standing in an empty restaurant which is blurred in the background and shows a black stair rail and black chairs

  13. This is a three-panel composite image made up of different scenes. Left panel: A still from a dramatic scene showing Leonardi DiCaprio and Kate Winslet standing closely together outdoors, with wind blowing and open sky behind them, a moment from the Titanic film Centre panel: A studio-style portrait of a Jeff Goldblum wearing dark-framed glasses, a black suit, and a textured shirt, set against a plain light background. Right panel: An outdoor scene in a garden or park, showing two women standing beside leafy plants, with a small sign on a post visible among the greenery.

  14. An artist's impression of the new Curzon street station, showing people outside a huge arch entrance with "Birmingham Curzon Street Station" in bold white signage.

  15. A smiling baby boy with short dark hair holds a card reading 'Today I am 11'. He is wearing a white top and is pictured against a pale grey background.

  16. A close up of a baby with short black afro hair. He is leaning to the side and smiling at the camera. In the corner there is a West Midland Police logo

  17. A woman with black hair stood in a street next to a red car

  18. A Peregrine Falcon perched in front of a tall clock tower.

  19. A composite police image of Mohammed Khan and Mohammed Haydar. Both have short dark hair, beards and moustaches.

    • UK
    A teal-coloured Lamborghini on the side of a road with two police vehicles in the background

  21. A white multi-storey building with a sign in Art Deco style that says "The Electric"

  22. An artist's impression of the courts, which are in a line and have purple flooring with glass walls and white lines on the floor. adjacent to them is car parking with black flooring and yellow bay lines

  23. Noah Sibanda has short curly black hair and is smiling. He has a white jumper on and is holding a card that says "today I am 11 months old"

  24. A line of Range Rovers, in various colours, in a dealership car park. On the bonnets of the nearest two, badges Range Rover and Land Rover can be seen. It is a sunny day.