There are two scrutiny committees that support the work of
the Cabinet and the Council as a whole. They allow Members to
consider council matters in greater detail leading to reports and
recommendations which advise Cabinet on its policies, budget and
service delivery. They may also be consulted by the Cabinet on
forthcoming decisions and the development of policy.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee monitors the decisions of
the Cabinet or an individual Member of the Cabinet. It can, in
certain circumstances, consider ‘calling-in’ a decision that has
been made by the Cabinet or an individual member of the Cabinet but
not yet implemented. This enables the Committee to consider whether
the decision is appropriate and ensure that all evidence has been
presented to Cabinet for them to make the right decision.
The Committee discharges the statutory functions arising under
Section 19 Police and Justice Act 2006 relating to crime and
disorder. The Committee also receives requests from Members in
respect of Councillor Calls for Action.
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee sets a Work Programme for
the year and monitors progress against it. The Council’s Forward
Plan is considered at every meeting to enable advanced
consideration of proposed key decisions.
At the beginning of the Council year, four Select Panels
are appointed and assigned review topics by Overview and Scrutiny
Committee. A fifth panel is appointed specifically to deal with
health issues. The four Select Panels appointed by the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee consist of one panel of 11 members
and three panels of 10 members, the Health Panel also has 10
members. The Select Panels do not have to be politically balanced,
and each member not on Cabinet has the opportunity to be on one of
the Select Panels. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee also
co-ordinate the work of the Audit and Performance Scrutiny
Committee and ensure there is no overlap between the workload of
the Audit and Performance Committee and the Select Panels. In
addition, they must ensure a robust system is in place for
referrals from Audit and Performance Scrutiny Committee to the
Cabinet.
Audit and Performance Scrutiny Committee
The Audit and Performance Scrutiny Committee has two specific
responsibilities. The Audit aspect provides independent scrutiny of
the Council’s financial and non financial performance and oversees
the financial reporting process and corporate governance. The
performance aspect monitors the operation and effectiveness of the
Council’s Performance Management Framework including the Council’s
budget and allocation of resources.
For more information on the responsibilities of this Committee
please see the extract from the Constitution.
Last Updated - 26/07/2011