The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have just produced a report called “Ward councillors and community leadership: a future perspective”
If you are an ordinary ward councillor, or thinking about becoming a councillor, it might be worth a look. It’s based on studies of several councils around the UK (though not Rochford)
For example:
“Many non-executive councillors feel distanced from council decision making and struggle to engage with local strategic partnerships and other structures set up to influence decisions about mainstream service allocation.”