Councillors on the frontline: follow up

Written evidence from Councillor Nikki Bond (CC 60)

I am a 30-year old female Councillor in my first year of Office.

The comments made by Grants Shapps about Councillors being 'volunteers' and  'Scout Leaders' clearly exemplifies how out of touch he is with the work that Councillors do.

In the same month as being selected as a candidate to stand for election, I got made redundant from my job and have since been unable to secure permanent employment. Having suspected that I might have been turned down for numerous job opportunities because of my Councillor role, this fear was confirmed when at my last interview, I was told that I had too many time commitments as a Councillor to be considered for a part-time job paying minimum wage (far less than I've earned in the past).

So, as a young woman who would like to start a family soon, I've had to put my life on hold for the sake of being a Councillor because no-one will employ me.

Don't get me wrong though. I absolutely adore being a Councillor and it might as well be a full-time job at times for the amount of time and attention I put into it. Arguably, for the purpose of making decisions that change people's lives, and playing a part in multi-million pound contracts, it ought to be a full-time job. And one that attracts an appropriate salary to go with it.

At Sheffield, a member such as me with no additional responsibilities, receives a basic allowance of £11,742, a little more than the equivalent of minimum wage for a full-time job.

As this is the only income I receive, my husband and I have had to cut back on spending and also reconsider our plans for starting a family.

Now I don't mean to blame being a Councillor for not getting a job because, at the end of the day, we are in a recession and jobs are hard to come by. But being a Councillor has made it more difficult. However, I do believe that the gravity of decisions we have to make in Council should attract a higher allowance, which would make it easier for people like me to make this an occupation - not a voluntary position.

A voluntary position implies that one can just walk away from the role whenever they wish, that there isn't too much responsibility and that you don't have serious decisions to make.

When Grant Shapps first made his comments about Councillors being volunteers, I invited him through Twitter to come and spend a day with me and a couple of other Councillors so that he could really get to grips with what it is we do - that offer still stands.

We've just gone through an excruciating process to remove £50 million from the Council budget. This has required numerous meetings at all times of day. Sleepless nights. Headaches and tears. It's been one of the most stressful experiences of my life, especially knowing the terrible impact it will have on some of our most vulnerable people. I've worried that people will die because of the cuts being made and evidence suggests that suicide rates are going up and people are having to choose between heating and eating. That burden of responsibility lies firmly on our shoulders as Councillors. So to say that we are just volunteers is quite frankly an insult.

Now it's true to say that not all Councillors put in the same amount of time and effort. Some work extremely hard and I count myself as one. Others do very little at all. To get round this, I think it would help to have a standard job description as you would in regular employment. Therefore, if someone is not fulfilling their role then there are ways and means of addressing that other than waiting until the next election. A higher allowance would also be of great benefit.

In Sheffield, I am one of 5/6 'young' Councillors. The demographic of Councils across the country will fail to become more representative in terms of age (and gender and ethnicity etc) if Councillors are neither properly recognised nor rewarded for their work. And that also includes keeping our LGA pension.

April 2013