• Councillors participate in the governance and management of the Council.
• Councillors need to attend meetings and take part in the Council’s work, for example through the decisions taken at Council meetings.
• Councillors represent their communities and bring their views into the Council’s decision making process, as advocates for their communities.
• Councillors represent the interests of their Ward and of individual constituents, including investigating concerns raised by their constituents and acting as the representative of that individual constituent.
• Councillors balance different interests within the Ward and represent the Ward as a whole.
• Councillors may be appointed to represent the Council on other bodies.

See 'Related Links' to find out more about how the council is run.

Remuneration

• Councillors receive an allowance to cover their out of pocket expenses and provide some recognition of the hours that they spend on Council work.
• Some Councillors are appointed to positions which carry a special responsibility allowance, for example Chairing Committees and acting as Portfolio Holders.
• The allowances payable to Councillors are set out in the Council Constitution (Please see 'Related Links').

Standards of conduct

• Councillors are required to comply with the Councillors Code of Conduct.
• They are required to declare certain interests that they hold and any offers of gifts and hospitality.
• They are required to treat everybody equally and behave in a proper manner when carrying out their public functions so that they do not bring the Council or their office into disrepute.
• Complaints that a Councillor has broken the Code of Conduct may be made to the Council’s Standards Committee, which will decide what if any action is required to deal with the complaint. The Standards Committee includes Independent Members, including an Independent Chair, to ensure that all complaints are properly handled.

Please 'Related Links' for more about the Councillors' Code of Conduct 

Becoming a councillor

• See 'How to become a councillor' in 'Related Links'
• If you are interested in becoming a councillor and wish to represent a political party, then you may wish to seek further advice from that party’s local organisation.
• If you are considering standing as an Independent Member, then further information about becoming a councillor is available on the Electoral Commission website. Please see 'Related Links'.