Roles of Elected Members
All Elected Members will:
- i) Collectively be the ultimate policy-makers and determine the budget and policy framework operating at all times in accordance with the principles of decision making set out in Article 11 of the Constitution;
- ii) Monitor and reviewing policy implementation and service quality;
- iii) Represent their communities and bring their views into the Council’s decisionmaking process, i.e. become the advocate of and for their communities;
- iv) Contribute to the good governance of the area and actively encourage community participation and citizen involvement in decision making;
- v) Effectively represent the interests of their ward and of individual constituents;
- vi) Deal with individual case work and representing constituents in resolving concerns and grievances.
- vii) Be available to represent the Council on other bodies; and
- viii) Maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics
The role of Elected Members is fundamentally different to that of Officers. In addition to a decision making role as part of the Council and, where relevant, as part of a Committee or Sub-Committee, Elected Members also have a responsibility to represent the interests of their ward and of individual constituents. This representative role may be carried out in a number of ways, and Officers will offer assistance to Councillors acting in a ward capacity. However, individual Elected Members are not empowered to instruct Council Officers to take a particular course of action. They are however, where set out in the relevant delegation, consulted as part of the decision making process.