NEW guidelines telling members of Malvern Hills District Council what their duties and responsibilities have been adopted by members.

The written role descriptions will help new members find their feet when they are elected and inform the public about what they can expect from their councillors.

There are separate descriptions for the chairman and vice-chairman, leader and deputy leader, portfolio holders and assistant portfolio holders, executive committee members and rank-and-file councillors

Paul Swinburn, the council's deputy leader, said: "I remember joining this council and saying 'what do we do?' This will make it clear to newly-appointed members and prospective candidates."

But not all councillors approved the move. Cllr Dean Clarke said: "I wonder if we should rename our executive committee the Politburo. Whoever produced this report had too much time of their hands. We're not the employees of the council or even of the electorate. I would say that we consign this report to the appropriate receptacle for the devil's work, to the waste-paper bin."