1. Composition
1.1 The Council will comprise 61 members, otherwise called Councillors. One or more councillors will be elected by the voters of each electoral division in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the Electoral Commission and approved by the Secretary of State.
2. Eligibility
2.1 Only registered voters of the county or those living or working there will be eligible to hold the office of councillor.
3. Election and Terms of Councillors
3.1 The regular election of councillors will usually be held on the first Thursday in May every four years. The terms of office of councillors will start on the fourth day after being elected and will finish on the fourth day after the date of the next regular election.
4. Roles and Functions of all Councillors
Key Roles
4.1 All councillors will:
(i) Collectively be the ultimate policymakers and carry out a number of strategic and corporate management functions;
(ii) Contribute to the good governance of the area and actively encourage community participation and citizen involvement in decision making;
(iii) Effectively represent the interests of their electoral division and of individual constituents;
(iv) Respond to constituents’ enquiries and representations, fairly and impartially;
(v) Participate in the governance and management of the Council;
(vi) Be available to represent the Council on other bodies; and
(vii) Maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics.
Rights and Duties
4.2 Councillors will have such rights of access to such documents, information, land and buildings of the Council as are necessary for the proper discharge of their functions and in accordance with the law.
4.3 Councillors will not make public, information which is confidential or exempt without the consent of the Council’s Monitoring Officer, or divulge information given in confidence to anyone other than a councillor or officer who is entitled to know it.
4.4 For these purposes, ‘confidential’ and ‘exempt’ information are defined in Chapter B3 (Access to Information Procedure Rules) of the Constitution.
5. Conduct
5.1 Councillors will at all times observe Chapter F2 (Members’ Code of Conduct) and Chapter F3 (Member/Officer Protocol) of the Constitution.
6. Allowances
6.1 Councillors will be entitled to receive allowances in accordance with Chapter F4 (Members’ Allowances Scheme) of the Constitution.
[Chapter F1 (Role of Members) was last amended on 11 February 2025]
A PDF version of this chapter is available to view or download on the CMIS section of the Council’s website, along with a PDF version of the full constitution.
