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. 

Overview and Scrutiny Toolkit (PDF – 1 MB)

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 committee also includes co-opted members representing school parent governors and the local Church of England diocese and Roman Catholic dioceses, who are entitled by statute to vote on education matters. It also has an additional non-voting representative of the Muslim community. 

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

Role of the Overview and Scrutiny (Part 2, Article 6 of the Council’s Constitution).pgs 21-23.

Terms of Reference of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Part 3.3.2, Responsibility for Functions).  pg 94.

Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Part 4.5, Rules of Procedure). pgs 196-207.