What we do

The role of Overview and Scrutiny

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets in public and has a role in checking the decisions of the Executive, conducting reviews and assisting in policy development. When the Executive take decisions, the members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee check those decisions to ensure that they are within the powers of the Executive, and that the views of those affected have been considered when making that decision. Scrutiny is about councillors working together with local people, businesses, service partners and community groups to improve policies and services.

What is a Scrutiny Review?

Scrutiny reviews involve looking at an issue in detail, searching out best practice in other councils and similar organisations and coming up with ideas for improvements and change. The role of a review is not simply to criticise, but rather to get under the skin of issues, develop an understanding of them and recommend ways in which they could be changed to improve the way the council serves the community.

Different Types of Reviews

In-depth Reviews

• Based around a broad issue that has a major strategic or performance impact on the council or residents.
• High profile issue with Members or residents that has been raised in public surveys.
• Politically contentious or sensitive issue, with contending views from Members.
• Solutions may be complex or multi-faceted.
• The matter crosses the boundaries of individual departments or corporate Management Groups.

Short topic Reviews

• Based around specific projects or services of limited general interest to Members or residents.
• Needs a relatively straightforward remedy or solution.
• The scope of the Review is achievable within a set number of meetings.
• The amount of background research required is limited.
• Largely an operational rather than a strategic matter.

If you want more information about how the Scrutiny function works, you can access the Scrutiny Guide from our downloads page.

Health Scrutiny

Despite not having formal powers to investigate the NHS, there is a system in place where district councils, together with Kent County Council who incidentally has statutory powers to investigate the NHS, collaborate on issues of mutual concern.

Read more about Health Scrutiny here on our Health Scrutiny page.

Related Links: How we do it | Structure | Getting involved