With hundreds of new councillors taking their seats following the local elections, the Local Government Association's recently published guidance on effective decision-making offers a timely framework for getting it right from day one.

Winning your seat is just the beginning. Once the count is done and the congratulations have been received, the real work starts – and at the heart of it is one of the most important skills any councillor can develop: making sound, defensible decisions.

The Local Government Association (LGA) published new good practice guidance on the principles of effective decision-making in March 2026, designed specifically to help councillors approach their responsibilities in a way that is transparent, evidence-aware and consistent with their council's legal powers and constitution. For anyone newly elected, it is essential reading.

The guidance warns that poorly taken decisions, even when well-intentioned, can risk Government intervention, judicial review or costly failures. That is a sobering thought for anyone just finding their feet – but the good news is that the LGA has set out a clear framework to help you get it right.

Know why you are making the decision

The first of the six core principles is having clear aims and intended outcomes. Before any vote or discussion, ask yourself: what are we trying to achieve? Who benefits? How will we know if it has worked? Decisions made without a clear sense of purpose are harder to explain and easier to challenge. Getting into the habit of articulating the intended outcome – to yourself and to others – will serve you well throughout your term.

Listen to your officers

New councillors sometimes underestimate the value of the professional advice available to them. Officers are required to provide robust, impartial and clear advice, and councillors have a responsibility to ensure their decisions are informed by that advice – even where those decisions are lawfully at variance with it.

You are not obliged to follow officer recommendations, but you should always engage with them seriously and, if you depart from them, be clear about why. Where councillors disagree with officer recommendations, they need to take particular care in giving clear reasons for the decision.

Be open and transparent

The public have high expectations of councillors and entrust them to represent their local area, taking decisions fairly, openly and transparently. Openness and transparency is one of the six core principles in the LGA's guidance – and it matters both legally and reputationally. The public have a right to understand how decisions are made. Your local authority should have a publication scheme setting out what information is accessible to the public, and as an individual councillor you must not prevent any person from accessing information which they are entitled to by law.

Consult and engage

Good decisions rarely emerge in isolation. Neighbourhood and community engagement has a rightful place as one of the key processes involved in planning and decision-making – it is not a resource burden, but a way of ensuring that scarce resources are better targeted in meeting community needs. Talking to residents, local organisations and those most affected by a decision will not only improve the outcome – it will strengthen its democratic legitimacy.

Always explain your reasoning

The fifth core principle in the LGA's guidance is providing an explanation of the options considered and the reasons for the decision. This is your accountability in action. A well-reasoned decision, clearly explained, builds public trust and protects you if the decision is later scrutinised or challenged.

Keep it proportionate

The sixth and final principle is proportionality. Put simply, the weight of a decision should match the significance of the issue at hand. A minor operational matter does not require the same level of process, consultation or scrutiny as a major capital investment or a policy change affecting thousands of residents. Applying disproportionate resource or process to small decisions wastes time and can delay more important matters; conversely, rushing through a significant decision without adequate consideration stores up problems for later.

Asking yourself whether the response is proportionate to the issue – in terms of time, cost, consultation and scrutiny – is a simple but powerful discipline to build into your decision-making from the outset.

The bigger picture

As the LGA's guidance puts it, in a context of financial pressures, rising complexity and intense public scrutiny, effective decision-making is central to democratic leadership and good governance – and it is not just about the decision itself, but the way it is taken.

The decisions you make will affect real people's lives. Taking the time to understand how to make them well is one of the most important investments you can make as a newly elected councillor.

The LGA's good practice guidance on the principles of effective decision-making is available at local.gov.uk.

This article was written with the help of AI.