What Elected Councillors Can And Can’t Do
Havering’s 55 elected councillors set the overall direction — rules, priorities, and spending — but they don’t run services day to day. That work is carried out by council officers
Here’s a what councillors in the London Borough of Havering are responsible for.
What our councillors do:
1. Represent you and your area
Councillors are elected to speak on behalf of residents in their ward (local area).
They:
Listen to your concerns and raise them with the council
Attend meetings with residents and community groups
Speak up for local needs when decisions are being made
2. Help solve local problems (“casework”)
This is one of their most visible roles. They can:
Chase missed bin collections, fly-tipping, or street cleaning
Push for repairs to council housing or report private housing concerns
Raise issues like potholes, broken streetlights, or unsafe areas
Help with complaints about council services
They don’t fix things themselves—but they can push officers to act and keep you updated.
3. Set Council Tax and the overall budget
Councillors decide:
How much Council Tax residents pay each year
How the council’s budget is divided between services
For example, they may debate whether more funding should go to:
Social care
Libraries
Parks and green spaces
Youth services
4. Decide policies and local rules
Councillors agree the policies that guide how the council operates, such as:
Housing policies
Parking rules and permits
Waste and recycling policies
Environmental and climate strategies
These policies shape how services are delivered across Havering.
5. Make planning and licensing decisions
Councillors sit on committees that decide:
Planning applications: e.g. new housing developments, extensions, or major building projects
Licensing: e.g. pub and bar opening hours, taxis, and other licensed activities
They must follow planning law and consider evidence — not personal preference.
6. Scrutinise and hold the council to account
Councillors check that the council is doing its job properly. They:
Question decisions made by senior councillors or officers
Review how services are performing
Investigate problems and suggest improvements
This is often done through overview and scrutiny committees.
7. Appoint leadership and key roles
Councillors:
Elect the Council Leader (who leads the council’s political direction)
Appoint committees and positions of responsibility
Help shape the council’s leadership structure
8. Work with partners and outside organisations
They often work with:
Local charities and community groups
Health services (like the NHS locally)
Police and safety partnerships
Even though they don’t control these organisations, they can raise issues and push for action.
9. Support community projects and funding
Councillors may:
Help local groups apply for grants
Support community initiatives and events
Promote improvements in their ward
Some councils also give councillors small local budgets to support projects.
10. Act in a regulatory and standards role
Councillors help ensure fairness and proper conduct by:
Sitting on standards committees (handling complaints about councillors)
Following a code of conduct (rules about behaviour and conflicts of interest)
Making decisions in a fair, legal, and transparent way
What councillors cannot do
They have important limits:
1. They don’t manage staff or operations:
They cannot instruct bin crews, assign individual jobs, or fire employees.
2. They don’t control police or most transport:
These are overseen by the Mayor of London and bodies like Transport for London.
3. They must follow the law:
They cannot ignore national legislation or cut legally required services like adult social care.
4. They are not all-powerful individually:
Most decisions are made collectively through committees or full council meetings.
5. The Havering Mayor is ceremonial:
The Mayor mainly represents the borough at events.
6. Real decision-making power lies with councillors and the Council Leader.
Who should you contact?
Your councillor:
For local issues like housing, bins, roads, or antisocial behaviour
Your MP:
For national matters like benefits, immigration, or tax (e.g. HM Revenue and Customs)
Transport bodies:
For buses, trains, and major roads, contact Transport for London
In simple terms
Councillors represent you, set the rules, decide spending, and hold the council to account.
Council staff carry out the work and deliver services. Understanding this split makes it much easier to know who can actually help — and how decisions affecting your area are made.
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