Parish Councillors recently decided in the interest of openness their record of attendance at meetings should be published twice yearly.
Our councillors believe it fundamental that they are as transparent as possible with the public on how they perform duties on behalf of the community. As such, they recently committed to biannually publishing their attendance record at meetings.
Attendance Record: April to December 2023
Alan Barnes
13/15 = 87%
George Braeckman
6/16 = 38%
Maureen Caton (Chair)
19/23 = 83%
Sanjukta Ghosh
5/9 = 56% (joined in July 23)
Anne Guney
12/15 = 80%
James Hogg
5/15 = 33%
Peter Jones
14/17 = 82%
Jo Kavanagh
15/16 = 94%
Ayub Khan (Vice Chair)
17/23 = 74%
Allan Love
14/15 = 93%
John O’Brien
16/18 = 89%
Lois Prior
10/17 = 59%
Geoffrey Sell
14/17 = 82%
Tom van de Bil
7/10 = 70% (joined in July 23)
The figures explained
Under the Local Government Act 1972, Council Members must attend at least one meeting in six months of the Full Council or sub-committee of which they are a member if they are to continue to serve in their role.
The attendance record published below clearly shows that all fourteen of our parish councillors comfortably have met this requirement for the period attendance was recorded.
It should also be noted that a councillor must be present at a meeting in-person for their attendance to be captured.
This means the figures exclude occasions when our councillors may have made use of Zoom software to follow proceedings of a meeting. As such, the figures may not in all circumstances reflect an individuals’ efforts to contribute to the life of the Parish Council.
Similarly, some members serve on working groups that meet during the daytime or evenings to research particular issues. Again, the figures below do not reflect such commitments. Neither do they capture the attendance/work undertaken by the Chair during her frequent trips to the office during the working week.
Also, whilst all members can attend any meeting, the total number of meetings that they are expected to attend varies depending on the committee or sub-committees that they serve on. The published figures are made up of the number each councillor was due to attend as per their committee membership, from the elections in May 2023 up until the end of December.
Finally, parish councillors receive no allowances or payment for carrying out their duties, unlike councillors at the district and county level. Their work representing the community is voluntary.
For further information
If you would like to raise any questions about a member’s record of attendance, we would ask you to contact the individual parish councillor using their contact details found on this website.