10 November 2022The Civility and Respect Project team have worked in partnership with Hoey Ainscough Associates Ltd to produce this Roles and Responsibilities guidance which has been approved for use by NALC and SLCC.
Councillors and officers have different but complementary roles. Councillors, as the democratically-elected representatives of their areas, are there to set the budget and strategic direction of the council and ensure that the community’s priorities are identified and delivered. The responsibility of officers is to advise the council on whether its decisions are lawful and to recommend ways in which decisions can be implemented. The council is responsible for decisions and officers take instructions from the council as a body, they are not answerable to any individual councillor – not even the chair.
The Roles and Responsibilities document expands on the guidance given in the protocol, gives practical examples and explains some of the ‘grey’ areas. It should be read alongside ‘The Good Councillors Guide’ and the Good Councillors series of publications published by NALC and Model Councillor Officer Protocol.
Find out more details about the Civility and Respect Project here
