Scotland has 1219 elected councillors who are elected every five years. There are usually three or four that will win a seat to represent your area – or council ward – and they will come from a mixture of political parties or maybe independent. 

But what does your councillor actually do and what can you go to them for? 

They’re a bridge between the community and council …

The key responsibility of a councillor is to represent the residents who made them a councillor and make sure their voices are heard by the bosses at the top. They’re not in a council chamber to fight for their own interests but for those of the people. So, if your bins are not being collected or your street is full of potholes, these are issues you could raise with one of your local councillors who should take them forward to people who can take action.

You should be able to contact your local councillors by phone or email, but you will also find most of them hold monthly advice surgeries in your area where you are free to turn up and discuss any concerns with them in person.

Of course, it’s not just individuals and families they’re there to represent, but also local businesses and councillors can take any issues they are facing forward too. 

As well as raising residents' and businesses’ concerns with the council, your councillors should also make sure you’re aware of key decisions that may affect you and be there to signpost you in the right direction if they can’t personally help with your problem. 

Basically, they’re your first port of call if you have any issues which relate to your council.

Councillors take part in meetings and sit on committees and boards …

In addition to attending full council, all councillors are members of certain council committees or boards and will scrutinise any decisions being made by the ones they sit on. Committees make key decisions in areas such as education, health and social care, housing and environment. During this decision-making, councillors have the opportunity to bring forward the views of their residents when they feel something may have an impact on them.

While councils regularly consult the public directly on certain issues – for example, what equipment you’d like to see in your local park maybe – a lot of key decisions will just be made in the chamber by councillors elected to represent you, so it is a vital part of a councillors job they raise any concerns residents have over a decision a committee is making.

Some will sit on boards with regulatory functions …

Councils are not just service providers, they also act as regulators, so some councillors will be appointed to sit on boards such as planning or licensing, considering issues such as planning applications or licences for pubs and restaurants and ensuring businesses comply with the law. Councillors are required to act independently on these boards and are not subject to any group or party whip.

Some councillors will have more important positions than others …

From the winning cohort of councillors, every council will elect a leader and deputy along with a Provost and deputy Provost. The council leader is essentially the principal political spokesperson for a council while the Provost is more of a ceremonial position and would represent the council at civic events. The Provost usually leads full council meetings but you’ll often see them take a bit of a back seat in debates because, while they may be a member of a party and will undoubtedly have views to share, they should be relatively neutral in this position.

Other councillors will be made conveners of certain committees or boards, so they are responsible for making sure the meeting runs smoothly and all proper protocol is followed.