Become an Independent Person for Sutton Council

Are you interested in making a difference in your community and contributing to the promotion of ethical behaviour by elected and co-opted members of Sutton Council? 

Are you able to provide impartial advice on formal complaints? 

If so, Sutton Council is looking for someone like you to become an ‘Independent Person’. To find out more about this role, or to apply, visit the council’s vacancies page.

Andy Elmer, Independent Person for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, shares his views on this role and why he finds it to be a rewarding way to give back to his community...

What made you want to become an Independent Person?

I've spent all of my career in the public sector in a variety of organisations, focusing on planning, transport, environmental work, health, and economic development. Since retiring from my career, I’ve become a primary and secondary school governor as a way to ‘give back’.

I applied to become an Independent Person for similar reasons as a way to provide an independent view, using my experience in a number of different roles to do so.

What do you find most interesting and challenging about being an Independent Person?

I quickly found that the most important thing in this role was to be able to provide an independent voice of reason on issues. I am often consulted on complaints about councillors and generally find that there is a common sense conclusion which can be found to resolve these complaints. Something that is both challenging and interesting is balancing what my view on a matter is with what I would expect residents to reasonably think about it. I do occasionally discuss things with the other Independent Person here in Kingston, and have spoken with Independent Persons from other councils before.

How do you balance being an Independent Person with other things in your life? Is it a significant commitment?

To be honest, time wise it's not that demanding a role. Now and again there's a small flurry of cases but these are shared between the two of us Independent Persons. We have a smooth system for recording and managing cases which allows me to see how similar cases were handled.

What would you say to someone thinking about becoming an Independent Person?

If you are interested in how your council works, are able to see both sides of an argument to see where the balance is, and want to contribute to maintaining local democracy, this can be a really rewarding role.