You can read “local councils” as “municipal governments,” more or less. Perhaps a British-based freeper can chime in.
Local councils are borough or county councils. Pretty much your equivalent of town councils, but spreading into the countryside and with a limited ability to tax to provide services using the council tax - our equivalent of property taxes.
Oddly enough, this whole idea started in my own borough. My neighbor across the road got what she thought a good deal on her home from the council - free maintenence, free rent and a lump sum in return for the deeds. Now they are trying to move her out to sheltered accomodation to clear the house for some lowlife scum.
Cheap rental Council Housing (subsidized by local County governments) were small ‘town house’ communities built after WWII for displaced families after bomb damage mostly in cities and towns - close to jobs and transportation.
Just a few years ago - those apartments were offered for sale to long-term residents who had paid nominal rent for 25-30+ years. They were snapped up at reasonable prices. Have a nephew who purchased a home for his father and moved in after his dad died. Fixed and modernized.
It appears that some elderly residents may be still renting 3-4 BR apartments while younger families are on waiting lists.
Housing value depreciation is driving this re-assessment and people are at the mercy of the ‘Council’ locals.