Who should I write to?
We want to help you get your issue to the right person
As someone living in the UK, you have many representatives at different layers of government.
Different representatives have different responsibilities. Sometimes you have multiple representatives at the same level.
This page explains the responsibilities of the different types of representative to help you make your choice.
Your representatives might also be able to help you with problems outside their area of responsibility, but this is best as an escalation after other routes have been tried.
- When should I contact my MP?
- When should I contact a councillor?
- When should I contact a Senedd Member?
When should I contact a Unitary Authority Councillor?
Your Unitary Authority is responsible for all local government services in your area. Your Councillor can help with issues including:
- Housing and homelessness
- Planning applications and local development
- Education and schools
- Social services and adult social care
- Rubbish collection and recycling
- Roads and transport issues
- Council tax collection and benefits
- Libraries, leisure and parks
- Environmental health and noise complaints
- Fire and rescue services
You have multiple councillors representing you. You can chose to write to one of them, or send a message to all of them.
For a personal matter, you might prefer to write to a single councillor. If you write to multiple councillors, this will be clear in your message and they might collectively just send one response.
Don’t worry if you’re not absolutely sure who to pick! Whoever you write to should forward your letter to the most appropriate person, if you haven’t got it quite right.
When should I contact a Senedd Member?
Your representatives in the Senedd are responsible for lawmaking in devolved areas, and for supporting/scrutinising the Welsh Government.
The Senedd/Welsh Government works on a "reserved powers" model.
This means that certain powers are reserved to the UK Parliament, and the rest are devolved to the Senedd.
Core areas of responsibility for the Senedd include:
- education
- health
- local government
- housing
- transport
- planning
- economic development
- certain taxes, such as Land Transaction Tax
- social services
- culture
- Senedd and local elections
- Welsh language
- environment
- agriculture and rural affairs
Matters reserved to the UK Parliament are the constitution, defence, national security, immigration, justice, and policing.
You have six Members of the Senedd representing you. You can choose to write to one or all of them.
You may chose to write to a single member if they have a particular interest in an issue, or if they are aligned with you politically (although this should not matter if raising a personal issue you would like help with).
If you write to multiple members, this will be clear in your message and they might collectively just send one response.
We will update this section with more guidance as it becomes clearer how the new multi-member constituencies work in practice.
When should I contact my MP?
Your MP represents you in the UK Parliament, which is responsible for making laws and supporting/scrutinising the UK Government.
You might write to your MP to raise a local or national campaigning issue, or for helping with a personal problem with a government service.
MPs may be able to assist you with issues with central government departments, such as:
- tax queries
- benefits, pensions and national insurance
- immigration
In Wales, education and health are devolved matters - your MP may be able to help if asked, but your Senedd Members will be the first point of contact for these issues.
Your MP may also be able to work with your local councillors to help with local issues, such as problems with your local council or local services - although your local councillors will be the first point of contact for these issues.
Your MP cannot help you in private disputes with other individuals or with companies who have sold you faulty goods, nor can they interfere with decisions made by courts.