Your responsibilities as a councillor will vary depending on the role you play but are likely to include:
- representing the ward you are elected in
- community leadership and engagement
- developing and reviewing council policy
- regulatory duties
- decision making
- scrutinising the decisions taken by the Executive
Councils deliver a lot of services in partnership with other agencies so you might have the opportunity to sit on partnership boards or committees.
Many councillors also represent the council on one or more outside bodies.
Meetings
You will be expected to attend meetings of the full council, which take place at least 7 times a year, and any other meetings for which you are a member. Meetings usually take place at 7:30pm. The schedule of meetings is agreed by the council each year. A summary is available below.
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Calendar of meetings 2021 to 2022
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For most of the meetings you attend there will be documents which you will need to read beforehand.
You might need to discuss casework or council business with council staff. These meetings will usually need to be during the day.
If you are a member of a political group you will be expected to attend political group meetings and possibly party training and other events.
Constituency responsibilities
The people you represent will look to you for help in dealing with their problems even if these do not involve the work of the council. You are likely to receive a lot of emails, some post and telephone calls.