From time to time you may need to go to "the council" to raise an issue or seek a service – but what council do you go to?

While many places have a single main council providing services, such as Stoke on Trent City Council, other areas including Staffordshire have a "two tier" local authority system. This can cause confusion if one council is in charge of collecting your bins and another is responsible for fixing potholes in your street and you don't know which does what.

In Staffordshire the two tier system means some services are provided by the county council, while others are the responsibility of the eight borough and district council across the area. You may have seen the two different types listed on your council tax bill.

Now the nine councils are set to work more closely together. A joint committee is being set up which will be known as the Staffordshire Leaders Board.

And there are talks of creating a single "front door" for residents who need to get in contact. County councillors have welcomed this move, hoping it will make it easier for residents to get in touch with the authority that provides the service they need to discuss.

Here is a general guide to what each council type is responsible for.

County council:

- Social care for children and adults

- Schools

- Highways and road maintenance

- Libraries

- Tips and recycling centres

- Registration of births, deaths and marriages

- Trading Standards

- Bus passes

- On-street parking and disabled parking badges

- Street lighting

- County records and archives

Borough/district councils

- Household bin collections

- Social housing

- Support for the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless

- Planning applications and enforcement

- Maintaining public parks

- Leisure centres and cultural venues (such as museums and theatres)

- Car parks

- Crematoria, cemeteries and bereavement services

- Environmental health and food safety

- Pest control

- Taxi and premises licensing

If two council tiers wasn't enough, some towns and villages in Staffordshire also have a third – and lower – level of authority.

Town and parish councils, which can charge a portion of council tax known as a precept, can have responsibilities such as running markets and community centres and maintaining public spaces, as well as speaking on behalf of residents on matters such as planning decisions, crime and road safety to authorities such as police and other councils.

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