The term of office, time commitment and allowances

Councillors serve a four year term.  You can stand for re-election at the end of your office term.

Depending on your role, elected Chairman etc, the time commitment can vary from a few hours each week to a several hours every day.

Meetings are usually held at The Council House, Malvern.  The majority of meetings are held in the evening.

Other calls on your time may involve evidence gathering in respect of scrutiny exercises, attendance at training and briefings.  You will also need to devote some time for initial induction and any identified training and development opportunities during your term of office.

For most of the meetings you attend there will be associated papers which you will need to read beforehand.

Your constituents will look to you for help in dealing with their problems, whether or not these fall strictly within the district Council's remit.  You are likely to receive a lot of post, telephone calls and emails and not every caller will telephone you at what you consider to be a reasonable hour.

If you are in employment you may need to discuss time commitment with your employer.  You are entitled to ask for reasonable time off for public service but your employer is not obliged to pay you for it.

Note; in order to benefit from the full range of Councillor support services and information available you will need to have access to the internet.  The Council is committed to reducing its paper consumption for efficiency and environmental reasons.  Electronic forms of correspondence also benefit Councillors in terms of response times to enquiries and access to constituents.

Allowances

Each Councillor receives a basic allowance, which is paid in monthly installments.  Currently this is £4200 per annum.  This allowance is intended to recognise that Councillors devote the equivalent of one day per week on Council business including attendance at meetings.  It also covers incidental costs such as the use of your home and telephone.

In addition you are able to claim a travel allowance, and in some circumstances subsistence, for your attendance at certain approved events.  A carers' and dependents' allowance can also be claimed to recompense those Councillors who incur expenditure for the care of children or other dependents whilst undertaking Council duties.

Some Councillors also receive a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) in recognition of particular duties undertaken e.g. Leader of the Council, Committee Chairmen etc.