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Representing the community

Councillors are elected by the local community and are there to represent its views. Each councillor represents an area called a ward, serving for four years. There are more than 20,000 elected councillors in England and Wales, representing their communities in 410 local authorities.

The work of a councillor includes holding surgeries to help local people, supporting local organisations, campaigning on local issues, and developing links with all parts of the community.

Councillors are not paid a salary or wages, but they are entitled to allowances and expenses to cover some of the costs of carrying out their public duties. They are not council employees. The elected councillors provide the policies, and then paid employees (council officers) put them into practice.

• Who can vote - local government elections

Contact your local councillor

If you want to discuss any issues with your local councillor, you can contact them via your local authority or attend the councillor's advice surgery. Advice surgeries are available for local people to ask for help or advice, make a complaint or enquire about local authority services.

Your council will have a list of the councillors' names and contact details. The following links will let you enter details of where you live and then take you to your local authority website.

• Find out about your local councillors Opens new window

• Find out about councillor advice surgeries Opens new window

Decision making and scrutiny

Councils have different ways of making decisions. Since 2000 most councils in England have had a small executive group that is responsible for the overall business of the council. Its decisions are subject to scrutiny by a different group of councillors who meet in overview and scrutiny panels, to check and monitor what the council does.

Smaller councils often have a committee structure dealing with separate aspects of the council's business, rather than having executive and scrutiny panels.

While the full council (a meeting of all members of the council) is theoretically responsible for all the decisions made, in practice most of the work is delegated to smaller groups of councillors or council officers (employees).

The arrangements are designed to ensure that people know who in the council is responsible for taking decisions, how they can have an input into decision making, and how they can hold decision makers to account.

Council meetings

You can attend most meetings of the council, although usually you will not be able to speak at them.

Every council must publish a 'forward work plan' listing the decisions that will be taken over the coming months. They also publish meeting papers at least five working days in advance, and afterwards they publish the minutes of the meeting, summarising the decisions made.

Local authorities may exclude the public from meetings and withhold papers only in limited circumstances.

• Find out about local council meetings Opens new window

• Search council minutes, agendas and reports Opens new window

Declaration of interest

All local councillors abide by a code of conduct, part of which requires them to declare any financial interests, gifts or hospitality that could influence any decisions they make.

Your local authority must publish these declarations, and you can usually access this information via the authority's website or at the town hall.

• Find out about councillors' declaration of interest Opens new window

Become a councillor

You might decide to become a councillor to:

• serve your community
• change things in your community
• follow your political beliefs

You can find out more about what being a councillor is like on the ‘Be a councillor’ website or by asking your local council. It’s a good idea to find out how your council supports councillors, for example:

• travel expenses and allowances for food and drink
• training
• any equipment you might need

Getting elected

To get voted in as a local councillor you’ll need to be at least 18 years old and a British, Commonwealth, Irish or European Union citizen. You’ll also need to be able to say yes to one or more of these questions:

• are you registered to vote in the area
• have you rented or owned land or premises in the area for the whole of the last 12 months
• have you had your main job in the area during the last 12 months
• have you lived in the area for the whole of the last 12 months

If you don’t belong to a political party you can stand as an independent councillor. If you want the backing of a party you’ll need to:

• join one
• get them to pick you as their candidate before the election

You can’t stand for election if you’re disqualified, for example if you work for the council or you’ve recently been in prison. The full range of disqualifications at local elections is complicated and there are some exceptions. You should contact your local council for advice.

How to apply

If you belong to a political party they'll arrange your application for you. If you're standing as an independent you should contact your local council for advice. You’ll need to fill out some forms that you can find on the Electoral Commission’s website.

• Be a councillor Opens new window

• Information and guidance for being a councillor Opens new window

• Find out about your local councillors Opens new window

• Who can vote - local government elections