1

14

2

2

3

10-20

4

eight

5

2

6

16

7

20

8

30

9

20

10

2

11

10

12

16

13

20

14

20

15

12

16

Planning

17

5

18

20

19

New to this but approx 6

20

2

21

20

22

8

23

10-12

24

15 hrs

25

planning committee - 8 hours a month

1

10

2

12

3

10-20

4

ten

5

20

6

14

7

2

8

3

9

6

10

14

11

10

12

10

13

10

14

7

15

10

16

Yes - lots

17

10

18

5

19

6

20

14

21

10

22

12

23

12-14

24

10 hrs

25

18

1

16

2

2

3

various community events

4

7

5

8

6

Research issues takes time - a good 3 hours a week. Attending events, webinars etc another 3 hours

7

2

8

10

9

10

10

3

11

8

12

Normal invitations and stuff

13

15

14

10

15

6

16

4

17

5

18

3

19

4

20

5 hrs

21

food bank – 4

Any other council duties

High: 16 hours

Low: 2 Hours

Rough average: 7 hours (19 Councillors)

1

54

2

54

3

56-60

4

I think 54 is about right. Could go up a couple. We have a committee system rather than Cabinet.

5

54

6

The number of electors per member seems very high at the moment. Given the forecast size of the electorate by 2025, I think there is an argument for increasing the number of councillors to 65.

7

54, or perhaps a few more to make more wards 2 member and release the pressure on councillors

8

I think that 58 councillors would be more appropriate. We have a heavy casework load in the city and many of the main issues centre around housing - a major problem in the city - anti-social behaviour, petty crime and drug dealing. On top of all that there is our committee work and membership of working groups and outside bodies, of which there are many. In my ward there are three councillors and we try to share the casework between us but there are a lot of residents in the ward and a large social housing estate. Councillors in other wards area also hard-pressed and we could do with some extra councillors in the city.

9

58

10

56-58

11

The same or slightly more- perhaps around 60 considering the growth in population between previous boundary reviews

12

About 36

13

65

14

Given the disparity in councillor:resident ratios across the city, I think a total of 60 councillors would result in greater equality of work load.

15

I think it should revert to pre-2004 numbers.

16

56-58

17

perhaps 4 more ie 58

18

As a group we feel that the number of committee and working group places has increased considerably since the last review especially due to the committee system reintroduction and additional number of working groups and sub committees set up. Having been in both administration and opposition over recent cycles we submit that around 58 Councillors would enable better governance arrangements

19

55

20

the same

21

Ca 60

22

56 to 58

23

Firstly, sorry this has taken me a while to respond to.
Answer - fewer. 30 max. Make the whole organisation tighter with more accountability from both councillors and, more importantly, officers.

1

no

2

I think we've got approximately the right number of Councillors for the population of the city.

3

None

4

The city is very dynamic and attracts a large number of visitors and people looking for work here. This again creates more work for councilllors and for committees. We are very stretched for much of the time.

5

Casework is very high. This is especially so in wards with large amounts of social housing.

6

My actual preference would be to change the whole system. To have less councillors but working for more money on expected monthly hours. I don't think this will be an option any time soon, so working on the present system I think we should be guided by population numbers per ward, and ensure wards are of a similar size with 2 per ward.

7

No

8

I think in order to do the job of a councillor properly it should be a full time job, and paid the Brighton Living Wage. There should be more wards but only one councillor per ward, and each ward should represent a recognisable community, eg Whitehawk, Coldean etc. This way each councillor will be more focused on one community and also have more time to do the job properly.

9

Consideration should be taken of the nature of the ward using data such as crime figures, Field Officer casework and health outcomes.

10

We are an increasing population, so there is a great deal of pressure on the current 54. It is a full-time job, but does not pay full-time wages, so trying to fit in a paid job around council commitments is becoming harder. The inbox and requests just never cease. It is exhausting.

11

More support for casework, including an online system that allowed tracking would reduce the time taken in following up on issues. Better support for Ward Councillors on Ward issues. Officers time is disproportionately taken up with committee work.

12

We would wish the number of appointments made at annual council meetings currently to be compared to at the time of the last review as part of the evidence base.

13

My main observations are:

1.that the problem is not that there aren't enough councillors but that there are too many meetings, committees and sub-committees.

2.And that these meetings are overly long. Unless there are amendments on reports, then there is no need to have speech after speech as the political parties know how they are going to vote before the meeting.

3. There is no way to track the output of councillors. I have no idea if I have more case work than other councillors as there is no transparency.

4. Officers need to be more accountable. Past Chief Execs have been higher profile and more proactive within the city.