WaGCG : Wantage and Grove Campaign Group
Wantage and Grove Campaign Group (WaGCG)
Home

Column 12th October 2022

Being a Councillor is a thankless task

At a recent meeting attended by some local councillors, one reminded me that the elections for District, Parish and Town Councillors takes place next May.

At the last election in 2019 there was a Liberal Democrat landslide in both the District Council and Wantage Town Council with both changing from a Conservative majority to a Liberal Democrat majority.

But why should these councils be political (in the sense of being linked to a specific political party)?

As a recent article in the Penny Post (pennypost.org.uk) said, the role of councillors is ‘first, to act as advocates for and representatives of the residents who elected them; and second, to make sure that the important statutory work of the council is done properly. Neither of these require a particular political construct.’

So I don’t really understand why being a member of a political party helps.

So what do District Councillors do?

They spend about £15 million on our behalf of which around £7 million comes from government grants and the rest from our council tax payments.

Most of the money is spent in accordance with statutory guidelines with very little input from Councillors.

Their main areas of responsibility include; refuse collection and recycling (outsourced), housing services (mainly outsourced), managing car parks and the Beacon, leisure centres (also outsourced), planning, environmental services and elections.

So as you can see most services are outsourced and it’s simply a matter of managing the contracts. This is done by staff with oversight by Councillors.

Things like new affordable homes are delivered by the developers and other developer contributions are based on planning agreements so Councillors on the planning committee review officers’ recommendations and approve planning applications.

Most of the time Councillors have to read detailed reports prepared by officers and discuss and agree recommendations.

There are about seven District Council meetings each month (mainly in evenings) but most councillors will only attend a couple of these (unless they have Cabinet Responsibilities).

Councillors may also have meetings with officers and residents to resolve issues.

It’s basically a thankless job but has to be done and is remunerated.

From April 2022 District Councillors are entitled to £5,585 per annum plus expenses with special responsibility allowances up to £22.340 for the Leader of the Council.

Will you be standing at the next election?


Copyright © 2013-2024 Wantage and Grove Campaign Group