Scrutiny committees in local government hold the executive to account and review policies. Scrutiny aims to amplify public voice and concerns, improve recommendations, and ensure public accountability. While some citizens want involvement in decisions, surveys found less than half want local and under two-fifths want national involvement. Scrutiny can engage the public by involving them in work programming, evidence gathering, and communicating findings. Examples in Welsh councils include co-opting public members and using social media for input. Further resources on improving public scrutiny engagement are available.

1. Scrutiny and Public Engagement
15 June 2012
Tim Buckle
Tim.Buckle@wlga.gov.uk

2. What is scrutiny?
???

3. ‘Scrutiny’ in context
•Local Authority Overview & Scrutiny
•Parliamentary Select Committees
•National Assembly for Wales Committees
•Regulators – e.g. Wales Audit Office, Estyn
•Internal Audit functions
•Performance management arrangements

4. Why scrutinise?
“Scrutiny ensures that executives are held
accountable for their decisions, that their
decision-making process is clear and
accessible to the public and that there are
opportunities for the public and their
representatives to influence and improve
public policy”*
Centre for Public Scrutiny, Introduction to scrutiny web pages,
www.cfps.org.uk

5. Overview & Scrutiny Committee Roles
in Local Government
•Scrutiny committees do no make
decisions, they make recommendations
•Holding the ‘executive’ to account
•Policy development and review
•External scrutiny of partnerships, partners
and issues of community concern (including
‘designated persons’)

6. Ways of working
•Various ways in which scrutiny committees can work:
–Task and finish groups
–Asking for written submissions
–Co-opting additional members
–Undertaking site visits
–Questions and answer sessions

7. Experiences of ‘scrutiny’ to date…
???

8. Principles of Good Scrutiny
•Constructive ‘critical friend’ challenge
•Amplifies the voice and concerns of the
public
•Led by independent-minded people who
take responsibility for their role
•Drives improvement in public services
Source: Centre for Public Scrutiny, www.cfps.org.uk

9. Report of the ‘Beecham Review’
(2006)
•Recommended that local authorities:
“enhance challenge capacity by raising the
profile of scrutiny, making it a strong vehicle
for service improvement and citizen
engagement, by involving a wider range of
stakeholders and developing skills across
sectors”*
*Beyond Boundaries, Citizen-Centred Local Services for Wales, Welsh Assembly Government, 2006,
Crown Copyright

10. Local Government (Wales) Measure
2011
Section 62:
“Introduces provision to require local authorities to
make arrangements to enable the public to
express their views in relation to any matter being
considered by the committee.”
*Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011: Explanatory Notes

11. However….
“Half the public do not actually want to be involved
in decision-making in their local area. Even more
– 55% - do not wish to be involved in decision-
making in the country as a whole.”*
*Audit of Political Engagement 6, The 2009 Report: with a focus on political participation and
citizenship, Hansard Society, 2009

12. Two years later
“the situation has now changed in the intervening
two years. The proportion of people who want to
get involved in decision-making in their local area
has fallen by five points to 43%; in contrast the
two in five people who want to be involved in
national decision-making remains stable.”
*Audit of Political Engagement 8, The 2011 Report: with a focus on coalition politics, civic
involvement and the Big Society, Hansard Society, 2011

13. Discussion
How can scrutiny amplify ‘the voice and
concerns of the public’?

14. Why engage the public in overview &
scrutiny?
•Scrutiny as an advocate for the local
community
•Improve the evidence base for
recommendations
•Public accountability
*Citizen-centred scrutiny: Engaging the public in overview & scrutiny, July 2012, WLGA

15. How / when the public can be involved
in overview & scrutiny?
•Developing the forward work programme
•Helping to shape/scope scrutiny exercises
•Evidence for scrutiny exercises
•At the end of a scrutiny exercise –
communicating findings
•Observing scrutiny meetings
*Citizen-centred scrutiny: Engaging the public in overview & scrutiny, July 2012, WLGA

16. Some examples of public engagement
through scrutiny in Wales
•Merthyr Tydfil – co-opting members of the public
onto scrutiny committees
•Monmouthshire – gathering evidence from the
public through scrutiny
•Newport – involving stakeholders in the scoping
of a scrutiny review
•Wrexham – engaging the public and partners in
scrutiny work programming
•Swansea – use of social media / online
questionnaire

17. How could public engagement through
scrutiny be improved?
???

18. Further information and resources
•Centre for Public Scrutiny – www.cfps.org.uk
•Scrutiny Time Bank – www.scrutinytimebank.co.uk
•WLGA overview & scrutiny pages – www.wlga.gov.uk