Hardest working councillors in Walsall revealed

Freedom of Information figures have revealed the number of enquiries submitted by each councillor since the local elections in May.

The data covers the first four months following the all-out event.

Coming in at number one is Councillor Simran Cheema, the council’s only Labour member who represents the Willenhall ward, who raised a total of 267 enquiries.

Councillor Cheema is followed closely by Councillor Richard Tapper, a Reform member for Bloxwich East and Blakenall Heath, who submitted a huge 260 enquiries during the same period.

Councillors in the Reform group submitted an average 31 enquiries per member, for Conservative group members the average was 26 and for Walsall Community Independents it was 44.

The newly formed Walsall People’s Alliance with just three members submitted 465 enquiries, giving them the largest average of 155.

Councillors, when elected, are responsible for raising matters on behalf of residents to Walsall Council. This can include issues around antisocial behaviour, roads, waste management, housing and more.

Many hold regular surgeries in their patch for residents to drop-in with any concerns.

For this role, every councillor was compensated a basic rate of £13,887 for the year 2025/26.

Any councillors with additional responsibility earn extra pay on top of this.

Below is a breakdown of the highest performing councillors for each political group, and the number of enquiries for each of the 20 members up for re-election in 2027.

The figures listed include requests submitted by phone to the members enquiries team, by email using the members enquiries inbox, or those received via the self-service app for councillors.

Not included is casework figures for when members approach officers directly to have issues resolved, as the council does not record this data.

Highest performing councillor for each political group

Reform UK

Councillor Richard Tapper, Bloxwich East and Blakenall Heath: 260 enquiries

Conservatives

Councillor Christine Edwards, Aldridge North and Walsall Wood: 50 enquiries

Walsall Community Independents

Councillor Hajran Bashir, Palfrey and the Delves: 161 enquiries

Walsall’s People Alliance

Councillor Daniel Rollinson, New Invention: 217 enquiries

Members up for re-election in May 2027

Councillor Daniel Rollinson, New Invention, Walsall People’s Alliance: 217 enquiries

Councillor Hajran Bashir, Palfrey and the Delves, Walsall Community Independents: 161 enquiries

Councillor Elaine Williams, Short Heath, Reform leader of the council: 68 enquiries

Councillor Christine Edwards, Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, Conservative: 50 enquiries

Councillor Rose Martin, Pelsall, Conservative: 34 enquiries

Councillor Basharat Hussain, St Matthews, Walsall Community Independents: 34 enquiries

Councillor David Sambrook, Bloxwich East and Blakenall Heath, Reform: 27 enquiries

Councillor Tony Sadla, Bloxwich West, Reform: 22 enquiries

Councillor Chris Hickey, Pheasey Park Farm, Reform: 21 enquiries

Councillor Scott Simmons, Beechdale, Leamore and Reedswood, Reform: 20 enquiries

Councillor Sawra Shmim, Paddock, Conservative: 19 enquiries

Councillor Kara Babb, Streetly, Conservative, 17 enquiries

Councillor Roy Tandy, Willenhall, Reform: 12 enquiries

Councillor Aysha Nizamoglu, Brownhills, Reform: 11 enquiries

Councillor Tabbi Awotwe: Harden, Goscote and Ryecroft, Reform: 10 enquiries

Councillor Basharat Hussian, Pleck, Walsall Community Independents: 9 enquiries

Councillor Jenny Goodall, Darlaston South, Reform: 7 enquiries

Councillor Ram Singh, Bentley and Darlaston North, Reform: 3 enquiries

Councillor Lucy Derby, Aldridge Central and South, Reform: 2 enquiries

Councillor Barbara McCracken, Rushall-Shelfield, Reform: 0 enquiries

By Rachel Alexander | Local Democracy Reporting Service