Roles for Councillors within the Council

All councillors are members of the full council which sets the overall policies and budget of the council. A small proportion of councillors will form the cabinet or executive board with all other members being active in the overview and scrutiny of the performance of the council, other organisations and external bodies. The cabinet or executive make most of the council decisions. Overview and scrutiny committees monitor performance and investigate as appropriate, and review and report on issues of wider concern to the community. As a new councillor your initial role is likely to be on an overview and scrutiny committee. There are regulatory committees dealing with the planning and licensing functions. Councillors are also appointed to external local bodies such as school governing bodies and local partnerships, either as representatives of the council, as trustees or directors in their own right.

Outside of the council you may be appointed to serve on a partnership between the council and other organisations, as a school governor, or to the committee or board of a local voluntary organisation. These are important positions for the council to fulfil its community leadership role. Some of these positions can be very demanding and some may require you to build up new knowledge or develop specialist skills. Be open to being nominated for such positions but do take care to be fully briefed on the responsibilities of office, the training required, and the likely time commitment of each position. Some positions have legal responsibilities and liabilities as you may be accepting the position of director of a company or trustee of a charity, depending on the legal structure of the organisation concerned. If in doubt, ask for full advice before being nominated for a position.

It is well worth checking out the procedures for inviting nominations and making appointments to all of the above positions straight away.

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