CITY councillors on average attend 87 per cent of meetings, new figures have shown.

The figures, published annually, show the number of meetings attended by councillors in the past year, since June 2017.

They attend full council meetings and meetings of any committees they may sit on, including planning and transportation, policy and resources and services.

If a councillor fails to attend meetings for a total of six months their role will be called into question, but there is no minimum amount of meetings they must attend as a rule to ensure they represent their ward.

The councillor with the lowest attendance was Brian Dalton (Lib Dem) for Harnham, who attended five out of eight full council meetings, one services committee meeting and three HR committee meetings - a total of 57 per cent.

And at a full council meeting on Monday night, Cllr Dalton abstained from all votes, including electing the coming year’s council leader and deciding on a £500,000 loan application.

Cllr Dalton said his attendance was affected by working night shifts, as many meetings are held at about 6pm during the week, and that this pattern was set to change in the near future.

But when asked if he felt his ward was getting the best representation it could from its elected councillors, he said: “You don’t have to be in a committee meeting to represent your constituents, you can meet them in their houses and represent them elsewhere.”

And he said other councillors who were retired were better able to attend 100 per cent of meetings, while “those who work can’t always do so”.

City council leader Matthew Dean refused to comment on councillors with low attendance and said it came down to the actions of individual members.

Cllr Dean, whose own attendance was 95 per cent, said in the one meeting he did not attend he had sent a replacement, and that he had missed it because he had been at another council event.

Seven of the city councillors attended 100 per cent of meetings, and Cllr Dean said: “They are an excellent example to us all. I think it shows that some people work very hard for this city, and their commitment is fantastic.”

Cllr Dean and councillor John Lindley were the only two councillors not to claim an allowance (set at £750 a year). He declined “as a matter of personal choice” as to him his role as councillor is “a matter of public service”.

Check your councillors' attendance:

BEMERTON

Caroline Corbin: 76 per cent (13/17)

Tom Corbin: 89 per cent (24/27)

Michael Osment: 100 per cent (17/17)

FISHERTON AND BEMERTON VILLAGE

Frogg Moody: 91 per cent (10/11)

Jeremy Nettle: 96 per cent (23/24)

John Walsh: 89 per cent (24/27)

HARNHAM

Brian Dalton: 57 per cent (8/14)

Stephen Berry: 100 per cent (30/30)

Simon Jackson: 94 per cent (16/17)

ST EDMUND AND MILFORD

Amanda Foster: 100 per cent (27/27)

Atiqul Hoque: 91 per cent (10/11)

Liz Sirman: 79 per cent (11/14)

ST FRANCIS AND STRATFORD

Kevin Daley: 100 per cent (17/17)

Mark McClelland: 100 per cent (14/14)

Charles Rogers: 79 per cent (11/14)

ST MARKS AND BISHOPDOWN

John Baber: 96 per cent (26/27)

Derek Brown: 91 per cent (10/11)

ST MARTINS AND CATHEDRAL

Jo Broom: 93 per cent (25/27)

Sven Hocking: 100 per cent (27/27)

Ian Tomes: 93 per cent (28/30)

ST PAULS

Matthew Dean: 95 per cent (19/20)

John Farquhar: 89 per cent (24/27)

John Lindley: 100 per cent (14/14)