Scrutiny Committee Structures in the East Midlands Contributions from • Amber Valley Borough Council • Bassetlaw District Council • Blaby District Council • Bolsover District Council • Chesterfield Borough Council • Corby Borough Council • Derby City Council • Derbyshire County Council • Derbyshire Dales District Council • Erewash Borough Council • Gedling Borough Council • Harborough District Council • High Peak Borough Council • Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council • Lincolnshire County Council • Newark and Sherwood District Council • Northampton Borough Council • North Kesteven District Council • Oadby and Wigston Borough Council • Wellingborough Borough Council Local Government East Midlands February 2008 Amber Valley Borough Council Amber Valley scrutiny structure • AVBC has one scrutiny committee; • The committee sets its own work plan each year; • Sub­committees are used for some reviews, as appropriate; • Any 1 member can request a call­in of a cabinet decision; • A provision is in place for residents or local groups to request that the scrutiny committee carry out a review Contact – Carol Hague [email protected] Bassetlaw District Council Also see attached diagram At Bassetlaw District Council there are two Scrutiny Committees: the Performance Improvement Scrutiny Committee (PISC), which monitors and scrutinises the performance of the Council and monitors Best Practice Reviews. The other is the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC), which deals with all other scrutiny related issues, including allocating Scrutiny reviews to its five Select Panels, monitoring progress on the Work Programme and considering call­ins. There are four scrutiny Select Panels and a Health Panel that sit under the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. In the past the Health Panel has mainly investigated changes in provision by health providers in Bassetlaw. For example, proposals for restructuring the Primary Care Trust in Bassetlaw, and the centralisation of cancer services in South Yorkshire and how this would impact upon patients from Bassetlaw making use of those services. The Health Panel also respond annually to the Primary Care Trust’s Statement of Core Standards – Annual Health Check. The Health Panel can undertake reviews, for example, in 2005/06 Members investigated the quality of care homes for older people in the Bassetlaw District and in 2006/07 the Health Panel reviewed NHS Dentistry Provision in the District. The four scrutiny Select Panels undertake ad hoc reviews as allocated by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Each Panel undertakes one review on any topic of importance to the District and its residents. Once completed, the Chair of the Select Panel will report the findings to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who will then pass the research to Cabinet. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee will then allocate a new topic to the Select Panel. Contact ­ Esther Watt [email protected] Blaby District Council In March 2007 Blaby District Council Scrutiny undertook an evaluation exercise and used the Centre for Public Scrutiny Self Assessment Toolkit, supported by an IDEA principle consultant and a Peer Member. This exercise culminated in a change to bring about a more flexible approach for the delivery of scrutiny reviews. A Scrutiny Commission of 18 Members remains but we moved from having 3 Member elected Scrutiny Panel’s, aligned to Cabinet Portfolio’s, to assigning prioritized work prog items to ‘review specific’ Working Groups. Working Groups are made up of between 5­8 Members. Four were established to undertake 07/08 priority work but depending on the type of review required this could be more. As each one finishes we inform Members of the next work item and they are asked to nominate themselves to the Working Group. Self nomination harnesses review interest/experience/expertise. I have included our short guide to Scrutiny which was produced following this evaluation exercise and provides the structure on p7, 8 & 9 . http://www.blaby.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/council­government­democracy/the­ council/decision­making/scrutiny/ Contact – Linda McBean [email protected] Scrutiny structure at Bolsover District Council The Executive (9) The Leader And Cabinet Members for : Social Inclusion Corporate Customer Services Environment Efficiency Housing Management People and Performance Regeneration Community Safety The Scrutiny Committee (28) Chair of Scrutiny Vice­Chairs of Scrutiny All non­executive Councillors The Policy and Performance Management Groups PPMG 1 PPMG 2 PPMG 3 PPMG 4 Social Inclusion Corporate Customer Environment Efficiency Services Housing Regeneration management People and Performance Community Safety Chair + 6 Chair + 6 Chair + 6 Chair + 6 councillors councillors councillors councillors The Scrutiny Committee There is one Committee which will collectively agree the annual work programme, scope of reviews, review reports, agree recommendations and deal with exceptions raised. The Committee make recommendations to the Executive and sometimes Council as well as monitoring decisions made by the Executive. The Policy and Performance Management Groups Each group has the responsibility for scrutinising the Council’s performance in respect of the specific Corporate Aims as well as scrutiny reviews within that remit which may also include other reviews that are of benefit to the community. Contact ­ Bernadette ODonnell [email protected] CHESTERFIELD BOROUGH COUNCIL – SCRUTINY STRUCTURE Scrutiny Board (OSC) Efficiency and Best Value Scrutiny Panel (OSC) (12 Members ­ Majority Group Chair / Minority Group Vice Chair) (8 Members – Majority Group Chair and Vice Chair) Covers all Portfolios (below) and External Scrutiny Covers all Portfolios Economic and Community Regeneration Monitors and makes recommendations on :­ Community Safety and Community Issues Sustainability and Environmental Ø Targets and improvement plans; Health Communities and Leisure Ø Efficiency reviews; Homes and Neighbourhoods Ø All aspects of Best Value; Planning and Asset Management Ø Comprehensive Review 07 and efficiency Customer and Corporate Services agenda; Performance Improvement Ø Shared services (where they impact on efficiency) Ø Agrees Scrutiny Board Work Programme; Ø Option appraisals Ø Call­In Ø Policy development; Ø Finance and Performance Scrutiny; Ø CCfA (when introduced) Ø Appoints Scrutiny Review Panels: Scrutiny Review Panels Time and remit limited scrutiny review work; All Non Executive Members involved; Supported by 1 FT Scrutiny Officer OSCs (only) receive Democratic Services Support for Agenda and Minutes Contact – Anita Cunningham [email protected] Derbyshire County Council Scrutiny at Derbyshire County Council: v Derbyshire County Council is currently undertaking a review of the Scrutiny function. The review is looking at the existing structure and is considering how and whether Scrutiny needs to be amended to accommodate the new legislative requirements. v Currently Derbyshire County Council operates four Improvement and Scrutiny Committees that between them scrutinise the various Cabinet portfolios and health requirements. The Committees are as follows: ­ Resources ­ Healthier Communities ­ Services for Children ­ Safe and Sustainable Communities v Each Improvement and Scrutiny Committee is managed by an Improvement and Scrutiny Officer, one of whom is the Improvement and Scrutiny Manager. The Improvement and Scrutiny Team are located within the Chief Executive’s Department. v Chairs and Vice­Chairs meet to discuss cross cutting issues. All Chairs and Vice­Chairs are from the majority group. v Each Improvement and Scrutiny Committee sets its own work programme and the reviews are conducted through working groups comprising Members of the Committee. The working group reports back findings to the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee for approval. v If review reports are approved by the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee then they are generally presented by the Chair to Cabinet. This may vary slightly if it is a review looking at health issues where responsibility may lie with an external organisation. v Each Improvement and Scrutiny Committee has responsibility for performance management and reviews on a six monthly basis the implementation of Improvement and Scrutiny Committee recommendations. Contact – Mark Pirnie [email protected] Derby City Council Although most names/portfolios have changed over time, Derby has consistently had five or six Overview and Scrutiny Commissions with similar roles since executive arrangements were adopted in December 2001. The Scrutiny Management Commission, SMC, has its own portfolio of responsibilities as well as a co­ordinating role for the O&S function. Each of the Overview and Scrutiny Commissions is responsible for both: 1. Carrying out policy development and review. This involves research and consultation on the development of policy options. The outcome of this process will be recommendations that are aimed at developing and improving Council policies. 2. Scrutinising and reviewing the decisions and performance of Council Cabinet and Council officers. This may also involve research and consultation and will lead to recommendations based on the outcome of the scrutiny process. A characteristic of Derby’s O&S bodies is having scheduled multi­item official meetings but with reviews usually conducted at separate informal meetings with the final report validated at a scheduled meeting. These informal meetings are open to all