Information for new members

Congratulations on your recent election as a councillor for North Somerset. 

Before you get started as a councillor, we will need to collect some essential information and you’ll need to read a few key documents. 

If you are a new councillor we will need some personal information from you so you can be set up promptly on payroll and ICT systems. This includes your name, address, banking details and more. This information will be kept private and only used for the purposes stated. The information will promptly be sent to the relevant teams in HR and ICT to be securely stored. Copies held by the member development team will be deleted. 

The only information that will be put on our website or used in any publication is your full name, political groups (if relevant) and the ward you are representing. 

We would like to gather equalities information from all members as part of our standard equalities practice. This data will be anonymised and used to support grant applications, council statistics and help us determine where additional support may be required for members. 

If you don’t want to complete this information online, you can complete it in-person on a paper form at the member introductory day on Tuesday 9 May. Any delays in completing the paperwork may lead to delays in receiving your allowance on time. 

The councillor introductory day is being held at the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday 9 May. You should have received advance notice of this date as a candidate.

On the day you’ll need to sign your acceptance of office as well as collect ICT equipment. You'll also have a photograph taken for your ID cards and website profiles, arrange your parking permits (if necessary), and you will be given tours of the Town Hall so you know your way around. 

This in-person event will also be a great opportunity to meet with your fellow colleagues as well as council officers.  

If you have any disability requirements or if you’re unable to attend on Tuesday 9 May, please email Taylor Meagher as soon as possible on taylor.meagher@n-somerset.gov.uk. Otherwise, we’ll assume your attendance and look forward to seeing you. 

This induction programme has been created by members and officers to give you the necessary skills and knowledge to fulfil your roles.  

Members agree that the essential sessions are vital to help you understand your roles and responsibilities as a councillor, whether you are new or returning. Legislation, policy and our internal processes are always evolving so attending these sessions will give you the most up to date information. You'll also get the opportunity to meet with senior staff and ask lots of questions. 

Core sessions are designed to support you in a variety of ways, from understanding social media, to the climate emergency and the council’s response to it. These sessions have been added to the programme to provide additional support and training on topics members have agreed are most useful.  

Most sessions have been scheduled in twice - daytime and evening, in-person and online - to allow for other commitments. You only need to attend one session unless otherwise stated. All essential sessions are in your North Somerset Outlook diaries for you to accept or decline with instructions and locations.

We would appreciate you letting us know in advance if you are planning to attend using these booking forms. 

Book your essential training

Please book onto these sessions as soon as possible. Sessions start on Monday 15 May.

Book your core training

Please take a few days to get settled into your new role and then book onto your core training. The first sessions start on Tuesday 6 June.

Committee training bookings

Please book onto relevant committee training once the committee seats have been allocated at the annual general meeting on Tuesday 23 May. The first training session is Friday 2 June.

It is a legal requirement for all members to provide a declaration of interest within the first 28 days of your term, whether you are a new or returning member.

Councillors must declare personal and pecuniary interests that might be seen as prejudicing their decision making.

Co-opted committee members and town and parish councillors are also required to declare their interests. 

You should declare your interests using our online form. Your interests will be displayed on the website within a few days of you submitting your form. 

The council is wholly reliant on ICT to deliver its services, and technology forms an essential tool for all elected members. Your committee papers will be distributed electronically, your expenses will be submitted online, and you will find that you will attend many meetings virtually.

We use Microsoft technologies extensively including Windows and Office 365 applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams. 

You will receive a new Lenovo Yoga which is a device that operates both as a traditional laptop and as a touch screen tablet. The Yoga will work successfully on any Wi-Fi network however if you work where there is no network available, we also provide a Mi-Fi device which will connect you to the internet using its 4G mobile data connection. Through your Yoga, you will be able to access all the systems and tools you will need to fulfil your role as a councillor. It will also act as your means of communicating with council officers either using email, Teams or the corporate telephone application, 8x8. If you are appointed as an executive member, you will also receive an Apple iPhone for corporate use. 

We do not provide you with a broadband connection or Wi-Fi network at your home address as we regard such utility costs as being covered by the allowances arrangements.  

Elected members have priority access to IT support and you can go directly to engineers without first speaking to the service desk used by officers. We will provide full details of these arrangements in the introductory session. 

It is a statutory requirement to ensure that councillors who are actively involved in local authority social services functions (have dealings with vulnerable children and adults) undergo a Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) check. You will be contacted directly if you need to complete a DBS check. 

If you are appointed to the Executive, details of how to complete an online DBS form will be given to you and you will be asked to attend an appointment at the Town Hall or Castlewood to provide documents from an approved list.  

Please be assured that any information and documentation you provide will be used only to complete a DBS check and will not be stored or used for any other purpose. 

Your payslip will be sent to by email to your councillor email address unless stated otherwise when completing your personal information form. Members and employees are paid on the last working day of each month. 

Basic allowance

• £9,666.21 

Special responsibility allowances

These allowances are additional to the basic allowance: 

• Leader of the council - £30,500.30 
• Deputy Leader of the council - £21,350.21 
• executive members - £18,300.18 
• Chair of scrutiny panel - £7,625.07 
• Chair of planning committee - £7,625.07 
• Chair of audit committee - £4,575.04 
• Leader of the Opposition - £1,525.02 
• Chairman of the council - £9,150.09 

Walliscote Place car park, on Walliscote Road, will be available for you to park in only on Tuesday 9 May. Cycle parking is available on Walliscote Grove Road outside the Town Hall. The bus interchange and train station are two minutes’ walk from the Town Hall.  

Once you collect your parking permit on the introductory day you can access the following Weston car parks:  

• Walliscote Grove Road East  
• Walliscote Grove Road West  
• Carlton Street Multi-storey  
• Locking Road  
• Worle Diamond Batch Station  
• Nailsea and Backwell Station   

Castlewood parking: please park in the main car park – your ID badge will give you access to the car park.