Areas of responsibility
The role of a local Councillor can be varied, and it is up to each individual Councillor how they work. Each Councillor has three main areas of responsibility. These are:
1) Representing people in their area (ward)
- holding 'ward surgeries'
- dealing with enquiries from residents in their ward about aspects of Council business
- undertaking casework
- explaining Council policy and making sure that the policy has been carried out fairly
- campaigning on local issues
- winning resources for their ward
- encouraging community participation and involvement in decision-making
- listening to the needs of local people and taking their views into account when considering policy proposals.
2) Community Leader
- representing the Council and constituents on local management boards, school governor committees or local partnership panels
- participating in the activities on any outside body to which they are appointed and reporting back to the Council
- developing a working knowledge of the organisations, services, activities, and other factors important to the community's wellbeing and identity.
3) Policy Maker
- councillors can influence local policies through their role on full Council and their role on committees, which both scrutinise the work of the Cabinet and recommend policy development
- membership of management boards of voluntary bodies and school governors
- membership of partnership boards
- membership of a political group, which meet separately from Council meetings.