What is the average workload of councillors? How many hours do they work a week?
No-one becomes a councillor to make money. Councillors work long and often anti-social hours on council business. At Fylde almost all meetings are held in the evening and with the advent of email and online access Councillors are available 24/7 in some cases.
Nearly half of elected members carry out council work on top of a job or are self-employed. For many authorities running up to 800 services the position of cabinet member can be a full-time role managing multi-million pound budgets and hundreds of staff.
Back bench councillors spent an average 18.2 hours a week on council business. This is the equivalent of a part time post for less than £3200 per annum at Fylde!