Councillors Role
A councillor’s role is to express views and concerns of residents of the village to the parish council and which in turn may be passed on to Wiltshire Council for further action. Individual Councillors do not have powers to make decisions on behalf of the parish council.
Councillors do not represent geographic areas within the parish – you may raise an issue with any councillor.
Councillors may be assigned responsibilities through Working Groups. Click here to see a list of current responsibilities (pdf).
Guidance available
Guidance is provided by the Wiltshire Association of Local Councils and Wiltshire Council on the appropriate conduct of a Councillor. Councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct and Standing Orders – both of which are reviewed every 24 months. These, and all the other applicable policies, can be found on the Policies and Procedures Overview page.
Register of interests
To ensure compliance with the code of conduct there is a requirement for each councillor to complete a register of interests. Councillors may be at risk of being affected by personal or prejudicial interests. It can be difficult to maintain an appropriate distance from local matters.
The register of interests is held by Wiltshire Council.
A book for Councillors to declare an interest in an item on the Agenda is also maintained and this is held by the Parish Clerk. Any declaration within a meeting is added to the Minutes. It is to ensure that members of the public can see a trail should there be any questions as to whether a Cllr had an interest in a topic being discussed.
Becoming a Councillor
Councillors are all elected. On occasions where vacancies exist and the number of applicants does not exceed that, then councillors are elected unopposed which is also referred to as “co-opted”.
Further Information
There is a wealth of information available on the internet. Below are a few useful links.
Information about Town and Parish Councils from Wiltshire Council
National Association of Local Councils (NALC)
The NALC Good Councillor Guide 2017
Councillors’ Resources
Councillors also need to have access to a lot of information. While much of this is available in the public domain, there is often associated data or advice which would be hard to find.
This Councillors Resource area should develop over time. But take note that things constantly change and this information should be used with caution! Always confirm information is up to date before making any use of it.