About us

“We’re ambitious and collaborative, single-mindedly focused on improving lives.”

Somerset County Hall

Welcome to Somerset County Council

There’s a lot about Somerset County Council that might surprise you. Probably will surprise you. We’re responsible for the most significant services across the whole of the county, like education, social care and waste management. Everything we do, we do to improve the lives of each and every one of our 550,000 residents, not to mention the millions of people who visit our county every year.

Now, what we do, the services we deliver, might not come as a great surprise. But how we do it, well, let’s just say it’s not how things used to be done in local government.

We’re ambitious, fast-paced, energetic and collaborative, single-mindedly focused on making lives better. We champion creative thinking and new ideas – and we encourage our people to put them into action to do things better.

So if you think that working in a county council will be slow, repetitive, uninspiring, and all shades of red tape, please think again. But before we get into what we can offer you and your career (the quick answer’s a lot), here’s more about us.

What we do

We’re responsible for the more strategic local services within Somerset, including many children’s services, education (schools, libraries and youth services), social services, highway maintenance, waste disposal, emergency planning, and town and country planning for matters to do with minerals, waste, highways and education. We also work alongside District Councils for more focussed services in their areas, like waste collection.

Beyond these services, we play an active role in encouraging cutting-edge businesses to relocate and thrive here through the inward investment agency, Into Somerset. We also appoint eight members to the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority.

The council in numbers

£11bn

Economy

500,000

Residents

10,326

School employees

3,200

Council employees

278

Apprentices

55

Councillors

4

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

1

National Park

Our vision and values

We’re a hugely ambitious council, committed to improving lives for the residents, communities and businesses of Somerset.

And that’s why we’re working so hard to build a sustainable organisation and a culture that promotes innovation and rewards, values and recognises our staff – and gives everyone here the opportunity to grow and develop, personally and professionally.

Working together, we’ll create:

A thriving and productive county that’s ambitious, confident and focused on improving people’s lives.
A county of resilient, well-connected and compassionate communities working to reduce inequalities.
A county where all partners actively work together for the benefit of our residents, communities, businesses and the environment in which we all live.
A county that provides you with the right information, advice and guidance to help you help yourself and targets support to those who need it most

A brief history of the council

1617

A meeting of Quarter Sessions held at Wells.

1889

County Councils were first introduced in England. Somerset Council is created.

1902

Primary and secondary schools added to the County Council's responsibilities.

1974

Somerset District Council formed.

Investing in the future

Behaviours and culture

Developing the authority into a positive culture and working environment based on strength of purpose and organisational values. Making sure that we the have right skills, tools, values and behaviours to improve lives across the county.

Commissioning for the future

Working as one organisation and in partnership with others to prioritise early intervention and prevention, encourage self-help and commission creatively and to ensure value for money. We’ll make best use of all our skills and assets to deliver cost effective solutions and create the right conditions for people and communities to thrive and help themselves and each other. We’ll manage our partnerships and contracts well to ensure they deliver the outcomes our communities need.

Prevention

Developing a shared vision with our communities focussed on improving lives. For individuals, it should mean better life chances and choices supported by stronger communities capable of meeting people’s needs and building on their strengths. For us, it should mean emphasising prevention so demand on our statutory services is minimised.

Digital

Empowering our residents to help themselves wherever possible. Enabling them to resolve their own queries, meet their own needs and resolve their own problems quicker and at a time that suits them. We’ll do this by providing the right advice and information and encouraging and supporting more customer self-service via digital channels.

Awards and recognition

2022

Somerset County Council recognised by The Department For Education as the 67th best Apprenticeship employer in the country

2019

Social Worker of the Year Awards - Silver Award Lifetime Achievement (Chris Denovan)

2019

Chartered Governance Institute Awards - Service Provider of the Year Award (Support Services for Education Governance)

2019

Faculty of Public Health Awards - Sarah Stewart Brown Award (Public Health Team)

2019

South West Contact Centre Awards - South West Contact Centre of the Year (Customer Service Centre Team)

2019

Public Services People Management Association Awards - Team of the Year (HR and Organisational Development Team)

2018

IIP gold status (Somerset Centre for Integrated Learning, Support Services for Education)

"The council is full of supportive colleagues who encourage you to try your best. I really enjoyed building close working relationships with colleagues across the council. They’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and every colleague's skillset and background is valued."

"The council offer flexible working and really trust their colleagues to work from home. Management is supportive and avoids resorting to without micro-managing. There are opportunities to develop with managers keen to support your career progression."

"Supportive and inclusive employer. Working here is immensely rewarding, knowing you have helped so many people. The way SCC has dealt with the challenges presented by Covid, and the support it has given the community, makes me feel proud to be part of the organisation"

"Salaries aren't as high as private sector, but the great benefits package does make up for that. The council offer flexible working and lots of opportunity to build a long-term career in an ever changing government organisation. If you like the challenge of continuous change, this could be the place for you."

"If feel that my work for the council is hugely valuable. That I am supporting some incredibly important services. The organisation is forward-thinking in terms of ways of working, offering good technology and working-from-home benefits, all underpinned by an understanding management culture."

"The council is a good place to work if you want to work part time. You have access to ongoing learning. Management on the whole is good. Everyone works very hard, focused on doing something worthwhile and helping professionals, and keen to demonstrate that they are offering good value for money."

"Working for the council is challenging and stimulating. Social Care is difficult but rewarding when the quality of the service can be maintained. There is a genuine culture of reward for hard work. Social Care is a changing and evolving service, and the council has a dynamic reputation."

"Supportive work environment and colleagues. Over the last 12 years I have worked with a variety of brilliant teams, each time developing new skills and gaining experience. SCC has adapted well to remote working during the pandemic with staff wellbeing at the top of the agenda."