How to get involved

Local Democracy How To Get Involved

Pembrokeshire County Council has 60 elected members, who represent a specific community area (ward) within the county (59 wards are each represented by a single member, one ward has two members).

In addition, there are presently 77 town and community councils, one of which is designated as a city council. These are independent of the County Council.

Local Elections

Local elections are held approximately every five years, so that eligible voters get to have a say in who represents them and their community area (ward) on local councils.

You can find out more about who is eligible to vote and how to register to vote in the Elections and Voting section on our website.

Who is My Councillor?

You can find a full list of who currently represents you and your community area (ward) on Pembrokeshire County Council in the County Councillors and Committees section on our website. 

You can find out more about the work of your local town or community council on the Town and Community Council website 

What are the Councils responsible for?

In common with other local authorities across Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council has a legal responsibility to provide services such as education, environmental health, social services and planning. Other examples of services provided by the Council include (but are not limited to) Youth & Youth Offending Services, Adult and Community Learning, Supported Employment, Housing, local public infrastructure and transportation, libraries, Registration Services and Pembrokeshire Leisure.

Community and town councils have the legal power to take action, but they have fewer duties and greater freedom to choose what action to take. They can take action to improve the quality of life for local people and their local environment and, in some cases, they can deliver services to meet local needs.

How do the Councils make decisions?

Decisions at Pembrokeshire County Council are taken in accordance with the Authority's Constitution, which reflects current legislative requirements. Under current constitutional arrangements, the Authority's decisions are taken at formal meetings of elected Members and depending on whether the subject matter is an "executive" responsibility or not, the decision will be taken in Cabinet, (the Executive) or full Council or one of Council's committees, such as Planning Committee, Licensing Committee or Standards Committee.

Cabinet, as the Executive, is held to account by Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees. Some decisions, which are Council responsibilities, are delegated to officers to take on Council's behalf, but Cabinet may also delegate responsibility for taking decisions to individual Cabinet Members as well as officers.

Formal meetings are advertised and open. Meetings of full Council, Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Committees are webcast. You can find out more about formal meetings in the Council and Democracy section on our website.

A Community and town will usually makes its decisions in council, committee and sub-committee meetings. Council and committee meetings (and following good practice, sub-committee meetings) must all be advertised and open.

What involvement can I have in County Council decision-making?

There are a wide variety of ways in which local residents can bring matters to the attention of the County Council and play a part in decision-making.

Routinue enquiries on Council Services

Please make use of our website, including MyAccount, or telephone our Customer Contact Centre on 01437 764551

Compliments, comments and complaints

Can be submitted via our website at Compliments, Comments and Complaints or Contact Centre as above. 

Contact your County Councillor (elected member)

Find out who your local member is and how to contact them at County Councillors and Committees

Stakeholder engagement and public consultation

The Council supports a wide range of stakeholder engagement and public consultation activities. You can find out more about how to take part in these on our website at Have Your Say Views gathered as part of these exercises are presented to and considered when formal decisions are made. 

Children & Young People’s Rights

Our Children & Young People’s Rights team promotes a wide variety of activities which support the involvement of children and young people in local democracy. You can find out more about this by contacting our Children & Young People’s Rights Officer, Nadine Farmer, on 07795 612917 or nadine.farmer@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

Information is also available on social media at:

Facebook - Pembs CYPRO

Twitter - Pembs CYPRO             

Community Organisations

Pembrokeshire has a thriving third and community sector. Many organisations across the county work with the Council as part of formal panels or interest groups, elsewhere work is on a more informal basis. You can find out more about third and community sector groups at the Pembrokeshire Community Hub

Overview & Scrutiny

As some who lives or works in Pembrokeshire you can bring your views on any matter under consideration by the relevant Overview & Scrutiny Committee to their attention. You can find out more about how to do this on our website at Overview & Scrutiny Public Engagement

Questions to Council

Members of the public residing or working in Pembrokeshire are permitted to ask questions at Ordinary Council meetings. No more than two questions may be submitted by one person at any one meeting. You can find out more about how to do this on our website at Public Questions at Full Council

Petitions

Anyone who lives, works or studies within the Pembrokeshire County Council area may sign or organise a petition. This includes anyone under the age of 18. If the petition gets 500 signatures, you will have the opportunity to debate your petition at a full Council meeting. Smaller threshold petitions will be considered as outlined within the petition scheme. Petitions with enough signatures to trigger a debate will be reported to the next convenient meeting of the relevant body. You can find out more about this on our website at Petitions

Representation at Planning Committee

If you are involved in a planning application you may be invited to make a representation at Planning Committee. You can find out more about Planning Committee on our website 

Representation at Licensing Committee

If you are involved in a licensing application you may be invited to make a representation at Licensing Committee. You can find out more about Licensing Committee on our website 

Further information about community and town council meetings can be found on the Town and Community Council website 

School Governing Bodies – another way you can get involved in helping to shape decisions on the delivery of an important local service is by becoming a school governor. You can find out more about this on our website at School Governors

You might even want to think about becoming a local councillors yourself!

We are always keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in becoming a local councillor, including younger people, women, disabled people and people from ethnic minorities.

You can find out more about this on the Interested in being a Councillor page on our website.