How much time is involved in being a councillor
 |
It is for you to decide the level of commitment you are able to give to being a councillor. It also ddepends on your role within the Council and the number of duties you decide to take on. It could range from a few hours each week to a few hours each day at busier times.
Some of the issues you need to consider are:
- how your role as a councillor will impact on any family and personal relationships – you will need their support and understanding as you may be spending a lot of your spare time on Council business
- the people you represent will look to you for help in dealing with their problems. You are likely to receive a lot of post, emails and a great many telephone calls, and not every caller will telephone at what you might think is a reasonable hour!
- most councillors hold at least 1 drop in surgery each month, some hold 2 or even 3 surgeries each month. You may spend some of your time visiting constituents at their homes, or at the Council offices, and you may also have to meet with officers of the Council to help you with any issues
- there are usually 7 full Council meetings each year, which you will be expected to attend.
These are formal meetings with other Council colleagues from all political groups and meetings start at 5pm and could last up to 3 hours, sometimes longer you will be a member of at least one committee or be on Cabinet. Nearly all committee meetings are held in the evenings from 5.30pm. Your meetings/commitments may not be evenly spread out over the cycle so some weeks you may be out more evenings than others. If you would like more information on the current year’s cycle of Council meetings please contact Committee Services on Leicester 252 6028.
The average length of a committee meeting is approximately 2 hours but this could vary.
- many councillors represent the Council on one or more outside bodies. Background reading and attendance at meetings of these bodies would increase your time commitment
- for most of the meetings you attend there will be papers that you will need to read beforehand. These papers can be quite detailed and take time to read and understand
- if you are elected as a chair, spokesperson or member of the Cabinet, the role can be very demanding as you will take responsibility for some of the Council’s £750 million expenditure each year
- If you are a member of a political party there will be additional calls on your time to attend political group meetings. Political groups require their members to attend group meetings in advance of Council meetings and possibly training events/seminars organised ny the political party
| A councillor's typical week |
In one week you could have a scrutiny committee meeting, a seminar, be representing the Council on an outside panel or partnership. If you are a member of a political group have a political group meeting and be holding your monthly ward surgery!
|