Overview and Scrutiny
What is Scrutiny?
The scrutiny function enables Members to hold the Cabinet and Senior Managers to account. It also enables Members to review policy and its implementation and consider any matters which affect the community which the Council represents.
All Members of the Council who are not members of the Cabinet are part of the Council's scrutiny function. The role of scrutiny is to ensure that the needs of the community are understood and met and that proper decision making is undertaken.
The Council appoints a Committee to undertake the management of the Overview and Scrutiny role, together with two review committees to undertake more detailed work in each of the main areas.
The scrutiny role is a powerful one with members of scrutiny committees allowed to summon Cabinet Members and employees to attend meetings and require them to answer questions (except questions they would not be required to answer in a court of law). The scrutiny bodies can insist that decisions of the Cabinet and Managers are reviewed and are open and fair.
How does it work?
The function of scrutiny is that of “critical friend” and its focus is on strategic issues, not the day to day running of services.
The Overview and Scrutiny Committees have a number of different functions to perform, the main ones being:
- A 'watching brief' on the work of the Executive to ensure that their decisions and recommendations fit with the policy framework and also take account of all relevant issues.
- Involvement in Best Value – appointing a Scrutiny member to be involved with relevant review groups and ensuring that timetables are met and have an on-going role in reviewing their implementation.
- Performance monitoring and review, ensuring that the targets and standards set are achieved.
- In-depth reviews – eachCommittee should identify areas which they consider should be the subject of an in-depth review and included on a work programme.
- Minor reviews- the Committees may ask officers, partners etc to input information in the form of reports, presentations and information
Key Objectives
The key objectives of the Overview and Scrutiny function are to complement and add value to the work of the Cabinet by:
- Having an input into performance reviews and making recommendations for improvements to Cabinet.
- Working with or on behalf of Cabinet on drafting new policies and reviewing existing policies.
- Monitoring the impact on performance, effectiveness, etc of Cabinet decisions, particularly in respect of achieving the agreed corporate objectives.
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