It has been a very difficult 18 months for many people due to the pandemic and although we are all generally looking forward it can be very easy to forget that life has changed for so many within the last year or so.
It has been a very difficult 18 months for many people due to the pandemic and although we are all generally looking forward it can be very easy to forget that life has changed for so many within the last year or so.
Before I looked into becoming a councillor I have to admit I wasn’t actually 100% sure what councillors actually did. I knew they attended meetings and made decisions that affected the area that I lived in but I wasn’t exactly sure how it all worked. Were there guidelines, was there any training, do councillors just rock up at meetings and make decisions there and then? There are lots of ideas bandied around about what councillors actually do but I thought this week I could let people know what the role of a Town Councillor actually is. Parish and town councillors act as ambassadors for their community, keeping everyone aware of local needs and concerns and reporting back on district, council and regional matters. Councillors represent the voice of their community as a whole, whilst being aware of, and considerate to, specific minority needs. This is why it is so important for councillors to listen to members of the public and have good communication with everyone, in my opinion councillors should be approachable and willing to listen to all sides of a discussion. Once the relevant facts are presented, and as long as all legal requirements are followed, a fully informed decision can be made. As a councillor you are required to adhere to your council’s agreed code of conduct for elected members. Each council adopts its own code, but it must be based on the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s seven principles of public life. These were developed by the Nolan Committee, which looked at how to improve ethical standards in public life and are often referred to as the ‘Nolan principles’. They apply to anyone who works as a public office holder. This includes all those elected or appointed to public office, nationally or locally, and everyone working in the civil service, local government, the police, courts and probation services, non-departmental public bodies and in the health, education and social care sectors. All public office holders are both servants of the public and stewards of public resources. The principles also apply to everyone in other sectors delivering public services. All councils are required to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by councillors, but individual councillors must also take responsibility. For example, you must register any disclosable pecuniary (financial) interests for yourself, your spouse, your civil partner, or a partner you live with, within 28 days of taking up office. It is a criminal offence if you fail, without reasonable excuse, to declare or register interests to the monitoring officer.Seven principles of public lifeHolders of public office should uphold the following seven principles:
In her first column for the Herald, Cllr Vicky Johns discusses how Ottery St Mary has progressed since her time as councillor and mayor of the town.
