Overview and Scrutiny
explained
An Overview and Scrutiny Toolkit has been developed to
explain the overview and scrutiny function in the council and its
role in improving transparency and governance - Overview
and Scrutiny Toolkit
The toolkit provides easy to read advice, guidance, and
practical examples of how overview and scrutiny works in the
council; and the positive impact it can have in changing council
policy and services to better reflect the concerns and priorities
of local people.
The toolkit identifies a standard approach to managing
scrutiny, including the selection of topics, and using different
types of scrutiny to best fit the topic being scrutinised. There is
a strong emphasis on making scrutiny more accessible and increasing
the participation of local stakeholders in the scrutiny
process.
Details
The Local Government Act 2000 established this function for
every council, with the key roles of:
•
Scrutinising decisions before or after they are made or
implemented
•
Proposing new policies and commenting on draft policies,
and
•
Ensuring customer satisfaction and value for
money.
The aim is to make the decision-making process more
transparent, accountable, and inclusive, and improve services for
people by being responsive to their needs. Overview & Scrutiny
membership is required to reflect the proportional political makeup
of the council and, as well as council services, there are
statutory powers to examine the impact of work undertaken by
partnerships and outside bodies, including the Crime and Disorder
Reduction Partnership and local health bodies.
In Tower Hamlets, the function is exercised by the Overview
& Scrutiny Committee (OSC). The OSC considers issues from
across the council and partnership remit. The Committee has 3
Sub-Committees which focus on health,
housing
and children's
services.
OSC usually meets once per month (a few days before Cabinet,
to allow scrutiny of decisions scheduled to be made there). These
meetings are open to the public to attend, and a timetable for
meeting dates and deadlines can be
found here. The committee’s quorum is three
voting members.
The OSC consists of a chair, plus elected members taking the
lead for policy areas which broadly reflect the structure of the
council.
The OSC carries out the scrutiny element of its work through
considering items on the agendas of its regular meetings, including
items “called-in”, or otherwise referred to it by full
Council. The former occurs where at least five members of the
council (or two voting co-optees on the committee, in respect of
education matters only) request that implementation of an executive
decision be halted within five working days of its publication,
until it has been considered by the OSC. The Committee can either
agree the decision or refer it back to the Executive for further
consideration.
Some meetings feature “spotlight” sessions, where
a particular policy area, portfolio or topic is the focus, with the
relevant cabinet member, council officers or partners in attendance
to answer the committee’s questions.
Equally important is the OSC’s role in exploring
specific issues in depth and making recommendations to the
executive and the council on policy to address them. Much of this
work takes place outside of meetings, through one-off
“challenge sessions” and dedicated reviews. These are
chaired by the relevant lead committee member and supported by
officers from the council’s Corporate Strategy and Equality
service and can involve members who are not part of the
OSC.
Here you
can find final reports, including findings and
recommendations, of all challenge sessions and reviews undertaken
by the OSC since 2010. Where the Committee has received progress
updates on its recommendations, these are also included. These will
be updated as more reports are agreed by the committee and
implemented by the council.
The OSC seeks to engage the public in its work. Details of
how you can get involved can be found in the scrutiny section on
our ways of
participation page
Web Casts
Films of
recent meetings are available to view (external
site).
Useful links:
- Council
Constitution and