County Services

We help to keep the people of Somerset safe. We deliver emergency planning and preparedness on behalf of all five Somerset local authorities. Our dedicated, ready-at-a-moment’s-notice team assesses risks, promotes business continuity, and support service areas across the council to consider and prepare their own plans. We also promote community resilience, develop and deliver emergency training courses and events, and work collaboratively with other emergency response organisations. And while we always hope for the best, it’s our job to plan for the worst. Just to be safe.

We promote and enforce health and safety in Somerset, helping to protect and keep safe employees and members of the public alike. With an expert and highly qualified team, we implement and constantly monitor all safety policy and systems. We work with and advise Elected Members, Directors, service areas, communities and contractors. We carry out accident and incident investigations. And we make sure that we’re up-to-the-minute with H&S legislation, codes and best practice – and we work hard to ensure that we’re using everything we know, the experience we have and the resources at our disposal, to safeguard people, wherever they are in our county.

A passionate, committed eight-strong team, we protect, manage and enhance the landscape and natural beauty of the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – for everyone who lives, works and visits this remarkable corner of our county.

From forestry and farming, to wildlife, climate emergency and biodiversity, for people’s enjoyment and the benefit of the local economy and local communities, we work with the council and other partners to deliver our objectives and actions. We’re very proud that if William Wordsworth and ST Coleridge were to return to the Quantocks after more than two hundred years, they’d still fully recognise the hills and landscape.

We deal with all aspects of parking in the county. We keep a close eye on CCTV enforcement cameras to make sure that people aren’t driving along key bus routes and take action as needed. We also manage parking on our high streets, and consult on, implement and manage residents’ parking schemes. Our work helps to keep the county moving, helps public transport to run on time, reduces congestion and, ultimately, improves the day-to-day lives of residents and everyone who works in and visits our county.

Births, weddings and funerals. Here in Registration, we deal with the major life events, delivering a prompt, professional service to the people of Somerset. The main roles in Registration are Ceremony Officers, who register weddings and conduct ceremonies throughout Somerset, and Registration Officers who register births, deaths and carry out the legal preliminaries to marriage and civil partnerships.

The Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) was launched in January 2015 in response to the devastating floods of winter 2013-14, which caused misery and devastation to Somerset’s people and communities. We’re here to give Somerset an extra level of flood protection and resilience, as set out in Somerset’s 20 Year Flood Action Plan. Only in Somerset do so many different bodies, including Somerset County Council, work so closely together to tackle flooding problems.

Based in a brand-new, purpose-built laboratory at J26 on the M5, we’re ideally placed to serve Somerset as well as our neighbouring counties and beyond. We provide expert asbestos, water, workplace and environmental testing to local authorities, public bodies, schools, businesses and the general public. We’re incredibly proud of our UKAS accreditation. It’s a rigorous process to gain and maintain this accreditation, covering all aspects of our lab work, record keeping and communication with our clients.

We’re responsible for all of Somerset County Council’s statutory passenger transport duties. Thanks to the efforts of more than 150 full and part time staff, plus a huge network of volunteer drivers, we’re a vital lifeline for the vast majority of our customers, many of whom are vulnerable, and have varying disabilities. The service we offer these people and their families is vital, whether that’s getting children from home to their special school, or providing transport to Social Services or providing non-emergency Hospital Transport to the NHS.