The role of representing or serving a group of several thousand local people is complex because of the patterns of change in social and political life in recent decades.
Communities are increasingly diverse and in some areas there can be frequent movement of people in and out of the community. For councillors, understanding the very nature of your ward is not always as easy as it seems. You may have lived in the area for many years. But the chances are that you will not know all of the communities who live there or all of their issues and problems.
The people who come to the council looking for help can tell you quite a lot about the area, but you will need to find other ways of getting to know the ward. Speaking to other local community leaders may help, eg ward councillor colleagues, community volunteers, the local police commander, teachers or senior managers within the council.
Some councillors programme a monthly walk or drive around different parts of their
ward, focusing on particular ‘trouble spots’ or areas subject to rapid social, economic or environmental change. It is also important to build up a good network of contacts – a list of names, telephone numbers and email addresses for people from a range of organisations that operate in your ward. Good networking can enable you to respond effectively to any local issues which arise, eg you may need to be proactive in consulting local people and organisations on relevant issues before council decisions are taken.
To do this you need to scrutinise the council’s agendas in order to spot issues likely to be of interest to your ward. Keeping in close contact with senior managers of the council should also enable you to establish an ‘early warning system’ to find out about issues that concern the ward but do not make it onto committee agendas.
Your council will hold a wealth of information analysed at ward level. This data can be useful in helping you to formulate and review policies and services in specific wards. It should also help you to understand needs across different communities.
In doing so, you should recognise that there may be mixed views on what is right for the area and how people might view any proposed changes. For example, while some local residents may favour the construction of a bypass, to remove traffic noise, congestion and pollution from a town centre, such a development may cause damage to the surrounding residential areas and could divert trade away from some local businesses.
By understanding the eco-system of local voices, interests and concerns in an area, decision-makers can serve them better.
Useful resources within New Conversations include:
- A simple test for understanding your council’s strengths and weaknesses for engagement
- A tool for internal engagement with staff
- A spectrum for thinking about how you are perceived by residents
- A measure for how challenging engagement is likely to be in your area
Checklist: How much do you really know about your ward?
Think about the area covered by a specific ward / neighbourhood – the different communities who live there, the industries and workplaces and the infrastructure that exists to serve and support local people. Reflect on the following:
- How many different languages are spoken in that area?
- What proportion of local people are from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities?
- How many disabled people live in that area?
- How many people living in your ward claim housing benefit/universal credit?
- How many people commute into the area each day to work?
- What were the most recent educational results for the schools in that area?
- What do you know about access to schools or transport provision?
- What did the most recent crime statistics reveal about offending behaviour in the area?
- How many affordable homes are being built there?
- What do you know about access to health and health services?
- Who are the local opinion formers and leaders?
Would you feel comfortable to be asked any of these questions by a local resident or the local media? What more could you learn about that place so that you can effectively engage with the people that live there?