Your Councillors
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
The role of a councillor is busy, varied and comes with a lot of responsibility. Councillors play an important role in the development of policies and the making of decisions about issues that impact their local community, in diverse areas such as housing, planning and environmental protection.
They are also responsible for the governance and oversight of the Council, which includes ensuring the proper operation of the local authority and the making of critical decisions about budgets.
Councillors make decisions about the operation of the local authority and the services it provides. For example, they decide on County/City Development Plans and local regulations, known as bye-laws.
Decisions taken by the elected Council are called reserved functions because they are reserved for the Council. Reserved functions are set out in law and relate to important areas like strategic development or finance.
Functions performed by local authority employees (the executive) are called executive functions. These generally relate to the day-to-day operation of the local authority.
As members of the Council, councillors make decisions on:
These decisions inform the broad range of functions and services delivered by the local authority, including:
Local authorities also deliver and implement national policies at a local level, for example, Active Travel, Housing for All and the National Planning Framework.
Councillors work to ensure that the needs of their community are taken into account when the local authority is making decisions, and that their interests are represented on other committees and bodies, like Education and Training Boards.
Representing the views of local people, communities, community groups and stakeholders is an important part of the Councillor’s role.
This aspect of the role can include many types of activities. Councillors:
As Council members, Councillors have the primary oversight role in their local authority.
Councillors have an important role in overseeing the activities of the local authority and ensuring that it operates effectively. As local authorities operate in a complex environment and interact with a wide range of stakeholders, it is essential that there is a strong governance structure in place that ensures they function properly.
Councillors have responsibility for:
Councillors also have particular powers in relation to the Chief Executive, including the power to require the Chief Executive to report on various matters related to the operation of the local authority. The Council also has powers in relation to the Chief Executive’s employment.