Roles and Responsibilities of an Elected Member

Members are elected for a four-year term of office, to represent both the interests of the Ward and the wider interests of all the citizens of North Wiltshire – this can be quite a juggling act.

There are a number of different roles that a Member will be expected to play during their term. Over the last few years there has been a radical change in the way that local government and its representatives have been asked to operate, and include:-

Community Leadership: This role is all about getting out into the wider community and finding out what people really want from their local council. It requires an ability to balance the needs of the whole community, both now and for future generations, and to work in partnership with other local groups – public, private, voluntary.

Policy maker: Every organisation needs to have guidelines to follow in the course of its work – the direction it should go in, how it should operate, what it can and can’t do. This part of the role is to ensure that the Council has the correct policies in place so that it can operate efficiently, effectively and legally.

Representative: Members are elected to represent a ward, dealing with the day-to-day problems that arise with constituents, being their mouthpiece in local affairs. Most Members arrange regular "surgeries" – advertised places and times when they can meet their constituents face-to-face. Other ways of making yourself known to your public are through networking – getting to know key people in local organisations such as community groups, community police, local schools.

Steward: The idea of a steward is to "oversee" the Council, looking at how well the services it delivers are performing, and challenging when standards are low. Most of members will be involved in some kind of scrutiny role, whether it is on a particular committee or panel, or through a Best Value Review or the Comprehensive Performance Assessment process.

A steward is also responsible for preserving the essence of things for future generations – not in a "this is the way we’ve always done it" sense, but ensuring that viable systems and resources are in place for subsequent Councils to work with and improve.

Politician: Finally, members have a role in representing their political party at a local level.