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.
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
grants.
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