Guide for prospective councillors

The Council is only ever as relevant, capable and dynamic as the people elected to run it. 

The decisions made by our County Councillors have an impact on residents' quality of life in so many ways. 

As a County Councillor you will be the authentic voice of your constituents; a champion for your local community. This way you will help Norfolk have a growing economy, full of thriving people living in strong communities that we can all be proud of.

Life experience and commitment to public service are the most important attribute a councillor can bring to the role. There are some conditions but generally any British citizen, eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any member state of the European Union, over 18 who lives or works in Norfolk, can stand for election as a Norfolk County Councillor.

Local people become councillors for many reasons, but mainly because they feel strongly about the area in which they live and they want to make a difference.

Councillors can belong to a political party, or they can stand as independent candidates, separate from political parties.

Our current Norfolk County Councillors come from a range of backgrounds, for some this was their first term, while others have successfully been re-elected many times. 

If you believe you have the required attributes and a strong desire to make a difference, I would like to invite you to consider standing as a County Councillor for Norfolk.

Thank you

Tom McCabe, Chief Executive

Norfolk County Council is the local authority for Norfolk. We provide a wide range of services for people who live, work, do business or visit here. These include Children's Services (such as schools), Adult Social Services, Highway Maintenance, Waste Disposal, Libraries, Museums, Fire and Rescue, Economic Development, Trading Standards and Public Health.  Most of these services are provided entirely by the County Council and Councillors have full decision-making powers over them.  In some cases, for instance, museums and some highways matters, we act in co-operation and by consulting others.  

As a prospective candidate, the County Council Plan will be of interest to you. The Plan contains key information about the Council's objectives, how we resource and deliver them, and how we are performing.

County Council Plan

What does a County Councillor do?

A councillor (member) is elected by local people to represent them through involvement in the development, monitoring and running of council business. A councillor also works with the community to support individuals, as constituents, with their problems.  In Norfolk you can be elected to a Parish or Town Council, to a District Council or to the County Council. County Councillors are elected for a four-year term but, if councillors are elected at a by-election, they will serve until the next scheduled local election takes place.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a County Councillor?

The council has developed a series of profiles covering the roles of all members and of those appointed to positions with special responsibilities. These are set out in the Norfolk County Council Constitution Part 3A: Role profiles

Key elements of the roles expected of all County Councillors include:

• Encouraging community participation in decision-making
• Representing the interests of their electoral division and of individual constituents
• Participating in good governance
• Championing the improvement of the quality of life of the community
• Contributing to the formation of the council's priorities, policies and strategies

As local councillors they should seek to ensure that the application of council policies and the delivery of services in their own locality meets the needs of the local community.

As technology continuously advances, good ICT skills are paramount. Most documents and members training materials are stored online and the majority of our initial training will be delivered remotely using MS Teams.

Do I have to be a member of a political party?

No. You do not have to be identified with a political party, although most councillors are. Some local authorities have independent members on their councils.

For information on the political groups or about standing as an independent councillor, visit Local Government Association - Political groups.

Who can become a councillor?

Local Government Association - Becoming a councillor

Norfolk is a diverse county and councillors come from a very wide range of backgrounds. The County Council is strongly committed to equality for all, which includes increasing participation in local politics of people who are often underrepresented as well as delivering fair and accessible services. Officers are always on hand to ensure councillors with specific access needs have appropriate support in place - for more details visit Training and development support .

Norfolk County Council is made up of 84 elected members, the Chief Executive and Executive Directors.

• Structure of the council - details about the council departments
• Leader of the Council and Cabinet - information on the Norfolk County Council's governance model visit 
• Committees, agendas and recent decisions - information about the different committees
• Watch videos of our committee and cabinet meetings on YouTube

Members Code of Conduct

What is the Code of Conduct?

All elected and co-opted members of local authorities, including Parish Councils, Fire, Police and National Parks authorities, are covered by a Code of Conduct. At Norfolk County Council, every councillor, on election to the authority, is required to undertake to observe a Code of Conduct that sets out rules governing the behaviour of councillors whilst in public office.  

Conflicts of interest

Elected councillors must consider their personal or business commitments and, where they could have a direct interest on a matter or they may have some influence over a decision being taken by the Council, they must openly declare this interest and not participate in discussions about it.

The rules relating to the disclosure and registration of interests are set out in the Members Code of Conduct. The document is contained within the Norfolk County Council Constitution part 3B.

The time, effort and commitment councillors give to their role depends on the individual. On average, councillors spend around 22 hours per week on council duties, although many councillors spend considerably more, especially if they have taken on leading roles. The issues identified below give a flavour of how council business may call upon your time:

• Constituency matters - helping the people you represent to deal with problems. This will usually be by telephone, post or email but may include some face to face contact.
• Full Council meetings - these are held at County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich at least eight times a year. Meetings start at 10am and last around three hours.
• Other meetings - most meetings are held at County Hall during the daytime. You will probably be appointed to sit on one or more member-level meetings, such as a Service Committee, which normally sits seven times a year.
• Briefing/training sessions - new legislation, new policies and key information are presented to members at briefing and training sessions. On such occasions, councillors will be notified of dates in good time before the meeting. It is expected that councillors will attend these sessions to assist you in your roles within the community or in committees and to help with any development of training needs.
• Political group meetings - if you are a member of a political group, you will be expected to attend such meetings on a regular basis.
• Representation on outside bodies - you may be appointed onto an outside body as a representative of the council and this may involve an additional time commitment.

Will I get paid?

County Councillors do not receive a salary, but you will be entitled to receive allowances.

All Norfolk County Councillors currently receive a basic allowance of £12,469 per annum plus travelling expenses (April 2024/25). Councillors with special responsibilities, such as the Leader of the Council and chairs of some committees, receive additional allowances. Full details are set out in Councillor expenses.

Council officers are employed to ensure that the decisions taken by councillors are carried out. They provide guidance and support to all members equally, regardless of political persuasion and work to enable councillors to fulfil their duties.

Support comes from a variety of sources within the council. Each department will have an officer designated as a member liaison officer, and they will be on hand to assist and direct members towards finding the right information within the council. A senior officer is allocated to each new member as a source of advice during the first six months of office.

Officers within the council's Democratic Services department provide ongoing support and advice regarding IT or training needs, co-ordinating training provision for members. They also support councillors on any committees that they may sit on.

Practical support

The council issues IT equipment to enable councillors to access and be available to the public, the council and its workforce. Officers are on hand to help and assist new members and provide supplies of business cards etc. Members within one of the main political groups have access to a group room. The Council also has a dedicated area on its staff intranet for members. This space holds valuable information online including data provided by service areas, links to training documentation, the constitution and also CMIS, which is the platform the council uses to provide councillor and committee information.

Peer support

There will be some existing councillors who retain their seats following the May 2025 election and these members are always willing to support new colleagues. In addition, the three largest political parties have political assistants employed by the council to provide administrative support to the group leader and its members.

Conservative Group Political Assistant
Guy Owen
Guy.owen2@norfolk.gov.uk

Labour Group Political Assistant
Becky Tye
Becky.tye@norfolk.gov.uk

Liberal Democrat Group Political Assistant
George Baker
george.baker@norfolk.gov.uk

Officers

Director of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer
Kat Hulatt
katrina.hulatt@norfolk.gov.uk

Director of Democratic and Regulatory Services
Caroline Clarke
Caroline.clarke@norfolk.gov.uk

Democratic Services Manager
Karen Haywood
Karen.haywood@norfolk.og.uk

Councillor Support Team
councillorsupport@norfolk.gov.uk

The following website links and organisations may provide further helpful background information:

• Electoral Commission (contains guidance for candidates)
• Local Government Association
• National Association of Local Councils
• Local Government Association - Political groups