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Overview and Scrutiny
Information about Overview and Scrutiny.
Overview and Scrutiny Committees of the Council
The Policy Team support the Overview and Scrutiny Committees with policy advice and research.
Each of the Scrutiny Committees have an officer allocated to them.
These are currently as follows:
- Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Timothy Godfrey
- Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Clare Killeen
- Business and Resources Scrutiny Committee: Ian Hinde
- People Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Timothy Godfrey
If you have an area of work that would benefit from being reviewed by non-executive councillors on a cross-party basis, then please contact one of the Policy Team who can advise you how to put it forward to the relevant committee work programme.
It is best practice to bring items forward well in advance of any ‘crunch’ decisions and to share officer thinking before decisions need to be made. This does two important things, firstly it can test the saliency of an issue, is it something that has broad support or is potentially divisive, and secondly it gives officers the opportunity to engage in the democratic process and can help shape those future recommendations.
The council’s public facing Overview and Scrutiny webpages are here: Overview and scrutiny | Cumberland Council providing links to recent documents, planned meetings and past committee papers.
Background to Overview and Scrutiny
Overview and Scrutiny was introduced by the Local Government Act 2000 to address the relationship and balance of power between the Executive and non-executive members.
Scrutiny is a process to ensure that decisions taken by the council reflect the needs and priorities of communities in Cumberland. Overview and Scrutiny Committees are made up of non-executive members working across political parties, to understand why decisions are made and how the council is performing to deliver the best possible outcomes for Cumberland, connecting decision makers to local communities.
Council decisions can made by council officers, by the council’s ‘Executive’ (political leadership) and by full Council (all Councillors). Overview and Scrutiny Committees do not have decision-making powers; their role is to challenge and make recommendations that influence decision makers.
Cumberland Council has an Executive and Scrutiny Protocol that sets out how Executive and Scrutiny will work together: Executive and Scrutiny ethos protocol (cumberland.gov.uk)
Best practice key points:
- Prioritise what comes to scrutiny (quality rather than quantity of items)
- Greater involvement in the council’s biggest challenges and priorities.
- Focus on outcomes
Overview and Scrutiny arrangements at Cumberland Council
Cumberland Council has four Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSC):
| Name of OSC | Number of Councillors | Meetings per Year |
| Business and Resources | 8 | 6 |
| Health | 8 | 6 |
| People | 8 | 6 |
| Place | 8 | 6 |
Terms of Reference for Scrutiny are set out in the Cumberland Council Constitution: Part 2, Section 5 Functions of Committees, Item 5 Overview and Scrutiny Committees.
The Constitution sets out procedure rules for Overview and Scrutiny in Part 3, Section 5 – Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules. All sections of the Constitution are available online: Constitution, April 2024 | Cumberland Council (moderngov.co.uk)
There are joint scrutiny arrangements put in place between Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils for:
- Joint Services
- Police, Fire and Crime
Types of scrutiny activity
Policy development – pre-decision scrutiny
OSC take a pro-active approach to policy development focussing on key strategic decisions. OSC activity several months before a decision is made has more time to consider the fundamentals of the decision and propose alternative options. This is the best way to scrutinise major decisions. Benefits of pre-decision scrutiny:
- Impartial perspective – gathering own evidence and stakeholder consultation
- Challenge assumptions and make evidence gathering more robust
- Develop challenging but realistic targets
- Engaging public to understand local needs
Policy development - Inquiry
Scrutiny can identify topics that require further investigation, research focusses on understanding key issues and local needs. Council policy may be developed or shaped as a result of scrutiny inquiries.
Monitoring activity
Scrutiny of performance updates or monitoring performance on key areas. This can ensure good performance is maintained, identifying and challenge areas of concern and ensuring good value for money.
Budget scrutiny
The council is required to set a balanced budget. OSC can assist with this by engaging early in the budget setting process and offering recommendations to the Executive on risks and priorities for the budget.
Managing relationships with professional partners
OSC can engage with local partners and stakeholders. Working with and seeking to influence partners can be very productive, particularly if scrutiny focuses on opportunities for the council and partners to work together.
Task and Finish groups
Task and Finish (T&F) groups are a fast-paced way of considering an issue in detail, undertaken by a small number of Members, working with officers. OSC establish a T&F group on a particular issue, then consider the T&F report making recommendations. T&F work can be a resource intensive, so should be used judiciously.
Call-in
Call-in provides a mechanism for councillors to intervene when they feel that a decision being made by the Executive needs to be revisited (or possibly changed). Generally, only “key decisions” made by the authority are subject to call-in. Call-in should not be considered a substitute for early engagement of scrutiny in decision making processes.