Governance and Public Services
Shepton Mallet is in the Mendip local government district which is part of the county of Somerset. In the 80 years prior to 1974, the town had fallen within Shepton Mallet Urban District. The town elects one councillor to Somerset County Council; at the last election in 2008, a conservative was elected. Shepton Mallet has four councillors on Mendip District Council, two elected by each of the two Town Council wards. Following elections in 2008, all were Conservatives. However the Shepton West ward elected a Liberal Democrat in a by-election on 1 July 2010.
The civil parish of Shepton Mallet has adopted the style of a town, and there is a Town Council of 16 members. Councillors are split equally between the two wards: Shepton Mallet East and Shepton Mallet West. The most recent elections were in May 2008, following which the council is made up of eight Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats, two members of the Labour Party and three independent councillors.
Shepton Mallet falls within the Wells parliamentary constituency. The current MP is Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats. The town is within the South West England European Parliamentary constituency which elects six MEPs. It is twinned with three European towns: Misburg in Germany, Oissel sur Seine in France and Bollnäs in Sweden.
There are two doctors' surgeries in Shepton Mallet, a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust, and also an independent sector treatment centre which carries out a range of surgical procedures. The nearest general hospital is the Royal United Hospital in Bath. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service have a retained fire station in the town, which is adjacent to the ambulance station operated by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust. There is also a police station, and the town falls within the Somerset East policing district.
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