These are the meetings you could be required to attend:

Council - All councillors are members of the full council. The full council debates and decides upon policy based on reports from the committees and agrees the main policies of the council and its budget. The full council typically meets every 4-6 weeks.

Cabinet - A small number of senior councillors will form the cabinet or executive board led by the leader of the council. The cabinet is like the government of the council, usually made up of members of the political group that has most members on the council or a coalition. It takes the decisions about the day to day running of the council. Each cabinet member usually takes responsibility for a specific area called a portfolio for example, education, the environment or social services. The cabinet will usually meet once a week.

Overview and Scrutiny - All other councillors are active in the overview and scrutiny of the performance of the council and other public bodies whose work affects local communities. Overview and scrutiny is vital, as it scrutinises the decisions made by the cabinet and the effectiveness of the council’s policies and performance.  

Regulatory Committees - Many councillors also sit on committees which deal with planning and licensing. This means that you could be taking decisions about buildings and local development or taxis and pubs across the council area. Typically a regulatory committee will meet every 2-4 weeks.

Other Committees - Some councillors may also be members of other committees, such as the governance and audit committee which makes sure that the financial policies and processes of the Council are in order or the standards committee which makes sure that members behave appropriately (more about how members should behave later) or ad hoc committees such as those formed to appoint new staff.

Other Local Bodies - Councillors are also appointed to external local bodies such as school governing bodies, public service boards, and local partnerships, either as representatives of the council or as trustees or directors. Some councillors also sit on fire and rescue authorities and, where a council includes part of a national park authority, a national park.

If you are a member of a political party you will also be expected to attend political group meetings, party training and other events.

Councillors are expected to attend all the meetings of the committees or groups to which they are appointed, as well as spending time in their communities.

When you attend council meetings, there are some rules that you’ll need to understand. These are set out in the council’s constitution. This document sets out how decisions are made, the responsibilities of each committee and how meetings should be run.

Most council meetings are open to the public, and many meetings are broadcast on the Internet. However on occasions, meetings or parts of meetings need to be held in private if confidential or sensitive information is being discussed.

Every committee has a chair. These councillors make sure that the business gets done and the meeting rules are followed. Committees also have officers who support their work by for example undertaking research and taking minutes.

All councillors are expected to behave well. The public needs to feel confident that you are living up to the high standards that they have a right to expect from you.

Councillors are bound by a statutory Code of Conduct. This code applies to councillors whenever they are acting or appear to be acting as a councillor.

According to the Code, councillors need to act very clearly in the ways outlined below:

• Act only in the public interest - not in favour of yourself or anyone else close to you
• Be honest and declare any interests you have. For example if a decision being taken affects your business you would need to declare it and perhaps not take part in any vote
• Act with integrity - not be influenced by any people or organisations for their benefit
• Act within the law
• Use the council's resources lawfully and sensibly
• Always take decisions on merit, using all the information and evidence available
• Always show respect to other people no matter who they are and what they believe
• Be as open as possible about your actions and the actions of the council
• Be prepared to be open to the scrutiny of the public for what you do
• Lead others by example and be a positive role model for the council to the public and officers

Breaches of the Code can be referred to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and sanctions can include formal apologies, training or even suspension or disqualification from office. Councillors are expected to formally agree to the Code when signing their acceptance of office following election. You can find the full text of the model Code of Conduct here.