Our District Councillors (West Suffolk District Council based in Bury St Edmunds) and our County Councillors (Suffolk based in Ipswich) are working hard every day for the communities they serve though you might not appreciate that unless you have had need of their help. As elected officials we sit on any number of Committees, meeting during the day and evenings, attending Parish and Town Council meetings too. Our role is very much that of a conduit - we help residents and business speak to the right people in the Council and we attend parish meetings to ensure that the Parish Council is run as it should be, for the benefit of the community they represent. Finding who is the right person to speak to in any large organisation can be challenge but your local representative at whichever tier of democracy you need, should be the starting point.
District Councillors are elected by Ward which is determined by the Council. County Councillors are elected by Division, which comprises a much larger area, often 15+ villages per Division. Councillors also all have Locality Budgets - a specific pot of money that they can use to support local events. District Councillors have £2800.00 pa for example and support events such as Open Gardens or Concerts; contribute to playground equipment or village hall projects and can signpost other funding if larger amounts are needed. The County Councillors have larger Locality Budgets but they are generally looking after a much larger number of people in their Division.
The District Council deals predominantly with planning matters, licensing and household waste collection whereas the County Council handles highways, transport, education, SEND, Social Care, libraries etc. Each Council is also responsible for working with Government agencies in regard to homelessness, economic growth and other national strategies or policies. The Councils receive their funding from Government grants and Council Tax payments with additional, smaller streams of income generated from investments that they make.
West Suffolk District Council does not hold any housing stock (formerly called Council Housing). All such properties were transferred to Housing Associations such as Havebury Housing and Flagship Housing but they do operate temporary, emergency accommodation for urgent care needs and are part of a multi-agency task force that aim to prevent homelessness.
Each Conservative Association is required to hold a list of members who are interested in serving their communities. You might feel strongly about one issue or you may just want to help other people and you feel you have the time to give to the job. Whatever the reason, if you want to find out more, contact [email protected] and we can always find a Councillor for you to have a chat with.
The selection process requires you to complete a form, attend an interview panel and if you are successful, you will then need to be selected as the candidate for the election by the communities you wish to represent.
The Government is currently consulting on replacing District and County Councils with a Unitary Authority so the role of an elected official will change. Until such time as it is implemented, we continue to recruit people for the current roles as sadly, people do die or become unable to continue in their role for any number of reasons and we have to fill the vacancy, however short the term left. Now is an excellent time to get started, see if you like it whilst knowing if it isn't for you, you won't be committed for a full term.