You and Your Councillor
Aberdeen City Council is led by its 43 elected members, who together represent Aberdeen. The Council is the democratically elected leader of the local community with a responsibility for the well being and sustainable development of Aberdeen City.
Councillors have a key role in making sure local government fulfils its main purposes of providing quality services, protecting the environment, and working towards developing a sound economy within the principles of partnership, equality and accountability.
Council elections are run by the authority's Election Unit
Representation for the citizens of Aberdeen
Councillors represent their own particular wards and make decisions about the way that the city is run, and about the services the Council provides. Residents may contact the councillors for their ward to express their views and ensure that those views are considered in the Council's decision-making processes.
Most councillors hold regular open sessions - surgeries - in their wards so that constituents can meet with them and discuss various issues relevant to their neighbourhood and the city as a whole. These surgeries provide councillors with invaluable experience of the day-to-day challenges faced by local people.
Functions and responsibilities of Aberdeen City Council
Councillors deal with the issues for which Aberdeen City Council is responsible.
Some of the main functions and responsibilities of Aberdeen City Council are: Education, Social Work, Housing, Building Control, Strategic Planning, Libraries, Transportation and Roads, Parks, Aberdeen Art Gallery and some city museums, His Majesty's Theatre and Council owned leisure sports and community facilities (such as swimming pools), Economic Development, Consumer Protection, Licensing Applications and Environmental Health.
Local Issues
Your councillors represent you on Aberdeen City Council. You can approach your councillors about local issues that concern you.
It is useful to know who your councillors are, as they are your democratically elected representatives on the City Council, and so can represent your views about many local services and issues. Please use the Search for a Councillor link to find out which Councillors represent your ward.
Other representatives who you may wish to contact include your local MPs, MSPs and MEPs
Role of Members
The Code of Conduct for Elected Members
All Members have an over-riding duty as a councillor to represent their whole community. They must be accessible to the people who live in the areas for which they have been elected to serve and represent their interests conscientiously.
Councillors are a point of contact with local groups and are able to represent the views of groups and individuals regarding council policies, services and the needs of the area. They work with local people and other organisations such as the police, health service and local business , to develop and plan services in their area of the city. They represent the community and the council on partnerships and outside bodies.
Councillors are increasingly becoming involved in scrutinising the impact and the work of all public agencies in their area including central government, the police and the health authority. Councillors will also monitor and scrutinise the performance of the services the Council provides.
What can my Councillor do to help me?
There are a number of ways in which your councillors can act on your behalf. These include:- Contacting relevant Council Services or outside agencies on your behalf, by whichever means they believe to be most suitable.
- Bringing forward questions during Council Meetings.
- Meeting relevant people/agencies/outside bodies.
Access to Council Papers
Online copies of council papers are available on the section of this website dedicated to Committee Services.
Paper copies of agendas and papers for Council and committee meetings are available for inspection in the Central Library, Rosemount Viaduct and at branch libraries.
Which ward am I in?/Who are my Councillors?
There are 13 Multi-Member wards in Aberdeen, each represented by several Councillors who are elected by the residents of their ward. Please use the Search for a Councillor link to assist you with contacting your Councillor. If you do not know which ward you are in or who your councillors are please follow the steps below. We hope to make this process easier to use shortly.
If you don't know which ward you're in, you can find out by using the election-maps website.*
If you don't know who your Councillors are, use the election-maps website to establish which ward you live in. Once you've done that, use the search facility on the Search for a Councillor page on this website, selecting 'ward' from the three options on the left and typing the ward name into the box. This will return the page about your Councillors.
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* How to use the election-maps website to find out which ward you live in:
1. On the front page, choose 'local authority area' and type in 'Aberdeen City'. This will cause the words 'Aberdeen City' to appear in a box at the bottom of the page. Click on the command 'go' next to this box - this will return an overview map of Aberdeen and a more detailed map. Next, either
2. Select 'Ward' from the list of options on the right-hand side (by clicking on the empty box alongside, so that a tick appears in it), and type your postcode into the box on the top left of the page. Then click on 'go' next to the postcode map or else click on the words 'Refresh Map' on the right of the page. Your area and ward name will appear on the map. If you don't know your postcode, you can find out by using the Royal Mail postcode finder website.
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3. Use the maps to select the area in which you live: the detailed map goes right down to individual street level. (You can switch the overview map off once you don't need it any longer.) When you're on the part of the map that shows your street or neighbourhood, choose 'Ward' from the list of options on the right-hand side (by clicking on the empty box alongside, so that a tick appears in it). Next, click on the map itself or else click on the words 'Refresh Map' on the right of the page. The ward name will then appear on the part of the map you're in.
E-mailing Councillors
If you wish to send an email to all Councillors at the same time, please use the following email address:councillors@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Most elected member have their own email addresses, and these can be found on their individual web pages. If you wish to send an email to an elected member whose email address you do not know, please send it to councillors@aberdeencity.gov.uk , and ensure the intended recipient's name is included in the subject field or at the top of the message.
