The county council will make it easier for residents to view the attendance records of councillors.

A motion put forward by Green and independent councillors was backed by members of all parties at a full council meeting on Thursday (May 16).

It said: “There should be a clear way for residents to view the attendance of councillors at public meetings, such as full council, scrutiny panels and committees.

“Ideally, there would be a page on the council's website showing a summary of attendance for each councillor.

“Some district councils in the county already do this. Our motion calls on the cabinet member with responsibility to produce a report into how this can be done.”

Cllr Matt Jenkins said: “A key part of being a councillor is scrutiny and you can’t do this if you don’t attend meetings.

“I don’t see this as a party political matter and I hope all members can agree on that.”

Cllr Jenkins said only three councillors out of eight attended a recent committee meeting.

“In researching this, I found the attendance to average about 66 percent - that is not good enough,” he said.

Cllr Marcus Hart, the cabinet member for corporate services and communications, said he agreed the information should be widely available, but added that attending meetings was just a small part of a councillor’s job.

Cllr Tom Wells said being a councillor has been increasingly difficult since Covid, especially with the abuse politicians are subjected to on social media.

Cllr Adam Kent added: “It is increasingly difficult to find people willing to put their head on the chopping block.”

Members unanimously voted to back the motion, which was submitted by Cllr Jenkins along with councillors Martin Allen, Andrew Cross, Tom Wells, Beverley Nielsen and Natalie McVey.

Councillors ran out of time to debate a motion calling for the council to explore opportunities to support community energy companies co-located near large energy users.

The schemes are a way of helping local authorities and communities meet Net Zero targets.