As a new councillor you will receive a copy of your council’s constitution, which sets out how the council conducts its business.
The constitution and meetings
As a new councillor you will receive a copy of your council’s constitution, which sets out how the council conducts its business, including:
- who is responsible for making decisions and how decisions are made
- procedural matters (set out in the ‘standing orders’)
- the role of officers
- standards and ethical governance.
It is important to familiarise yourself with these parts of the constitution, in particular the standing orders. These specify the terms of reference of the council’s various member structures, the rules on declarations of interest, the timings and order of business at council meetings and the rules of debate.