Being a Councillor
Job Description

There are a number of different strands to being a local councillor. These are outlined below.

 

Representing Your Ward

You are first and foremost elected to represent the residents in your ward and to lobby decision makers both within the council and external to the council on behalf of local residents. This can include making representations to the Planning Committee about a planning application in your area.

 

Decision Making

You must attend any and all relevant meetings. All councillors must attend the meetings of the Full Council every two months at 7pm. Councillors are also appointed to other panels, groups and committees; the meetings for which you are expected to attend and actively engage in. This could include internal scrutiny panels as well as ‘outside bodies’ such as community associations. 

 

Scrutiny

Scrutiny is an important part of how the council works. It gives councillors the opportunity to look at council policies and assess how they can be improved. Scrutiny is an important process for opposition and back bench councillors to hold the council’s administration to account for their decisions. 

 

Quasi-judicial Committees

As a Unitary Local Authority, North East Lincolnshire Council is also the Local Planning Authority and the Local Licensing Authority. This means that councillors might sit on one of these panels which make non-political decisions about planning and licensing applications respectively. 

 

Representing the Party and its Values

As Liberal Democrats, it is also the job of Lib Dem councillors to speak to the values and policies of the party when at all possible. This includes taking decisions based on fairness, equality and community.

 

Community Leadership and Engagement

Localism and community empowerment have always been core values of the Liberal Democrats. Lib Dem councillors are expected to get ‘stuck-in’ in their local area and show grassroots level leadership. This includes engagement in local community associations, residents groups and Neighbourhood Forums.