Emily Yule, Assistant Director of Law and Governance, presented the Way of Working for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and outlined the following points:
The responsibility of the Committee was to provide a critical friend challenge to executive policy and decision makers by challenging in a constructive and purposeful way. The Committee could give a strategic review of corporate policies, plans, performances, and budgets in an a-political atmosphere. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee enabled the voice and concerns of the public to be heard by conducting public meetings and by using innovative public communication, consultation, and feedback. It was important that both Members and Officers were well prepared to answer questions at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Meeting.
The types of Scrutiny were outlined as Pre-Scrutiny, Scrutiny of Services/Projects, Joint Scrutiny, and Call-in:
· Pre-Scrutiny could be initiated by the committee, Cabinet of Officers. It was important that Overview and Scrutiny monitored the Forward Decision’s List, to identify any areas the Committed wished to look at.
· Scrutiny of Services/Projects included reviews of a service area or project, periodic reviews and standing items or scrutiny of something which had gone wrong.
· Joint Scrutiny, not only included Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, but also other partners and external scrutiny.
· Call-in was when a Cabinet Decision was called in by 5 or more members, one of which must be an opposition member. The Call-in had to be evaluated by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and the Monitoring Officer to assess if the Call-in was valid. Often this was when a decision had not been taken on based on all the pertinent information. Timing was critical when a Call-in was requested.
There was a Call-in form and a check list available for Members to use. The Call-in could be submitted by e-mail from the Lead Member and supported by four additional supporters.
There were two elements involved when a decision could be questioned and a Call-in could be raised. One was when not all the relevant information available had been considered by the Cabinet and the second element was when a prober decision procedure had not been followed.
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee would construct an Overview and Scrutiny Forward Plan, and Members were advised to keep the plan concise to enable an in-depth investigation of a review. Each review would include a scoping exercise and a scoping template would be available for Members to use. It was suggested that Members set up Task and Finish Groups to develop a deeper understanding of the topic and items under scrutiny.