An Overview & Scrutiny Committee has a statutory role to ensure
that a council carries out its responsibilities
properly.
Purpose
- The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will hold the
Corporate Services Committee and the Community Services Committee
to account for the discharge of the Council’s functions.
- The Committee will not have any responsibility in relation to
Standards matters nor individual decisions on regulatory matters,
ie Planning and Licensing.
- As well as scrutinising individual decisions of the Corporate
Services and Community Services Committees and reporting on any
matters arising from those decisions, the Overview & Scrutiny
Committee may make reports and recommendations to any committee or
the full Council on matters which affect the Council's area
generally or its residents.
- The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will lead the community
planning process and drive the search for Best Value.
- The other committees may wish to consult the Overview &
Scrutiny Committee on proposals for action in advance of decision
making.
- The Overview & Scrutiny Committee is free of political bias
so that Members can examine issues without taking their party's
political position.
Core values
The Overview & Scrutiny Committee's core values are:
- To be timely - shaping, intervening and anticipating; being
proactive and being quick and flexible where needed.
- To be open - the Committee is in a unique position to be honest
about the strengths and weaknesses of the Council.
- To be effective - the Committee will always add measurable
value to whatever it considers.
What the Committee can look at
An Overview & Scrutiny Committee looks into decisions made by
the Corporate Services, Community Services, Planning and
Licensing Committees (other than decisions made in respect of
permissions, licences and other similar consents) to ensure that
they are fair and correct.
More information is available in the Committee's Terms of Reference
within the Council's Constitution.
It can "call in" decisions which have been made but not yet
implemented. This enables the Members to consider whether the
decision is appropriate and, if necessary, refer the decision back
for reconsideration.
The Overview & Scrutiny Committee is not a decision making
body itself and can only make recommendations to the Corporate
Services, Community Services, Planning and Licensing
Committees and full Council.
Calling in a decision
A request to call in a decision can be made by the Chairman of the
Overview & Scrutiny Committee (or the Vice-Chairman in the
Chairman's absence) and two other members of the Committee.
Once the request for a call in has been received, the decision will
be referred to the next ordinary meeting of the Overview &
Scrutiny Committee for discussion. If, after scrutinising the
decision, the Committee is still dissatisfied, it can refer the
decision back to the relevant Committee or full Council for
reconsideration. Full details of the call in procedure can be
found in the Council's Constitution.
Councillor Call for Action
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 sets
out a challenging agenda to empower councillors and Overview and
Scrutiny Committees to hold public service providers to account and
to ensure that the concerns of local residents are considered in
the local decision making process.
By developing and strengthening overview and scrutiny, enhanced
powers will be given to councillors through a process called
“Councillor Call for Action” (CCfA). This is designed to
allow any councillor to refer matters of local concern affecting
his or her ward to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, if all
other avenues have failed in resolving the local concern.
The Centre for Public Scrutiny was commissioned by the Department
of Communities and Local Government to produce best practice
guidance for CCfA. This was published on 13 February 2009 and
comes into force on 1 April 2009.
More information is available in the following documents:
CCfA Best Practice Guidance
CCfA Protocol
A Councillor's Guide to CCfA
CCfA Request Form
Work Programme
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work
Programme lists what the Committee is doing and when.
It also lists the lead officer for each topic.
The Work Programme currently covers the period May 2010 to April
2011 and is updated at each meeting.
Annual Report
An Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report is
prepared each year, as required by the
Council's Constitution. The report explains the
structure of overview and scrutiny and how it works at
Forest Heath District Council. It also outlines the work
undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and research
groups and gives a forward look to future developments.
Budget
In 2004/05, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was allocated a
separate budget to assist it in carrying out its programmed
work. The budget allocated to the Committee since then is
shown below:
|
2004/05 |
£2,500 |
| 2005/06 |
£2,500 |
| 2006/07 |
£2,000 |
| 2007/08 |
£2,050 |
| 2008/09 |
£2,050 |
| 2009/10 |
£2,050 |
A budget of £2,650 was agreed by Council for the financial year
2010-2011, which the Committee can use for arranging site visits,
the cost of hiring alternative meeting room accommodation, inviting
in outside specialist speakers and reimbursing their
expenses. These are small sums as the Committee is conscious
that it does not want to add to the burden on council tax
payers. Its job is to improve the work of the Council –
not to make it more expensive.
The Committee plays an important role in improving council
performance and services. In the event that it needs expert,
specialist or independent support for evidence gathering or
reporting to do this, the Committee will have access to other
council funds.
Dates of meetings in 2010/11
| 20
May 2010 |
2 September 2010 |
25 November 2010 |
3 March 2011 |
| 3 June 2010 |
16 September 2010 |
9 December
2010 |
31 March 2011 |
| 17 June 2010 |
7 October 2010 |
13 January 2011 |
14 April 2011 |
| 8 July 2010 |
28 October 2010 |
27 January 2011 |
28 April 2011 |
| 29
July 2010 |
11 November 2010 |
17 February 2011 |
|
More information
Overview & Scrutiny Committee
membership
Community involvement - who can attend meetings
and what the Committee can do for you
Useful links
Centre for Public
Scrutiny