Part 4 - Scrutiny Rules
These rules set out how the Overview and Scrutiny function is undertaken and the structure of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.
1 Arrangements for Overview and Scrutiny.
The Overview and Scrutiny function will be undertaken and directed by the Chair and Vice Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees appointed from their number. The four themed Scrutiny Committees will each comprise of nine members. The rules of political balance will apply. Such Committees may appoint Sub-Committees and Working Groups as they consider appropriate.
2 Appointment of Scrutiny Committees.
All Councillors, except Members of the Cabinet, may be Members of a Scrutiny Committee. Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees will be appointed annually by the Council Meeting. However, no Member may be involved in scrutinising a decision in which he/she has been directly involved.
3 Meetings of the Scrutiny Committees
The Scrutiny Committees’ work may be project based, and they may need to meet in addition to their scheduled meeting dates included in the Council's Calendar of Meetings. The Scrutiny Committees will process the work efficiently against output targets and timetables will be drawn up to monitor action in respect of the work. A special meeting of any Scrutiny Committee may be requisitioned by not less than four Members of that Committee, on giving 10 working days written notice, setting out the item required for the agenda.
4 Quorum
The quorum for the Overview and Scrutiny Committees shall be as set out for Committees in the Council Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution.
5 Chairing Scrutiny Committees
The four Scrutiny Committees will be chaired by councillors who are Members of the largest political group on the Council. The Vice Chairs of the Committees will be persons chosen by the largest political group on the Council.
Subject to the above, the Chairs and Vice Chairs of each Scrutiny Committee will be appointed by the Council Meeting.
6 Work Programme
The four Scrutiny Committees will deal with policy review and development work on a project by project basis. The work programme will be formulated in consultation with the Leader, Deputy Leader, the four Scrutiny Chairs, the Chief Executive, the Assistant Director - Corporate Improvement and the Assistant Director - Governance who will have already taken suggestions on the programme from the Corporate Management Team.
Elements of the work programme will be undertaken by the appropriate Scrutiny Committee. Each project in the programme will be championed by the relevant Portfolio Member who will form a close working relationship with the Scrutiny Committee carrying out the relevant work.
This section needs to be read in conjunction with Article 7 in Part 2 of the Constitution which refers to the role of the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee in more detail.
7 Agenda Items
Any Member of a Scrutiny Committee shall be entitled to give notice to the Assistant Director - Corporate Improvement that he/she wishes an item relevant to the functions of the Committee to be included on the agenda for the next available meeting of the Committee. On receipt of such a request, the Assistant Director - Corporate Improvement will ensure that it is included on the next available agenda.
This is in addition to the introduction of Councillors Call for Action (CCfA) in accordance with Section 119 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 which is a mechanism through which Councillors can raise issues relating to the Ward they represent which are of significant community concern. This is intended only to be used when all the usual channels for resolving such issues have been exhausted.
The CCfA Guidance adopted by the Council on 11 May 2009 is included within Part 5 – Protocols/Codes of this Constitution.
The Scrutiny Committees shall also respond, as soon as their work programme permits, to requests to review particular areas of Council activity as mentioned in paragraph 6 above. Where they do so, the Scrutiny Committee shall report their findings and any recommendations back to the Cabinet and/or the Council. The Council and/or the Cabinet shall consider the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their next available meeting.
8 Policy Review and Development
(a) The role of the Scrutiny Committees in relation to the development of the Council’s budget and policy framework is set out in detail in the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.
(b) In relation to the development of the Council’s approach to other matters not forming part of its policy and budget framework, the Overview and Scrutiny Committees may make proposals to the Cabinet for developments in so far as they relate to matters within their terms of reference.
(c) Scrutiny Committees may hold enquires and investigate the available options for future direction in policy development and may appoint advisers and assessors to assist them in this process. They may go on site visits, conduct public surveys, hold public meetings, commission research and do all other things that they reasonably consider necessary to inform their deliberations. They may ask witnesses to attend to address them on any matter under consideration and may pay to any advisers, assessors and witnesses a reasonable fee and expenses for doing so.
9 Reports from Scrutiny Committees
(a) Once it has formed recommendations on proposals for development, the Scrutiny Committee will prepare a formal report and submit it to the Monitoring Officer for consideration by the Cabinet (if the proposals are consistent with the existing budgetary and policy framework), or to the Council as appropriate (e.g. if the recommendation would require a departure from or a change to the agreed budget and policy framework).
(b) The Council or Cabinet shall consider the report of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their first available meeting after it being submitted to the Monitoring Officer.
10 Rights of Scrutiny Committee Members to documents
(a) In addition to their rights as Councillors, Members of Scrutiny Committees have the additional right to documents, and to notice of meetings as set out in the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution. Members will also be informed of the Council’s Forward Plan of key decisions.
(b) Nothing in this paragraph prevents more detailed liaison between the Cabinet and Scrutiny Committee as appropriate depending on the particular matter under consideration.
11 Members and Officers Giving Account
(a) In carrying out their work, Scrutiny Committees may require the attendance at particular meetings of any Member with executive responsibilities and/or any Senior Officer to explain in relation to matters within their remit:
(i) any particular decision or series of decisions;(ii) the extent to which the actions taken implement Council policy; and/or(iii) service performance.
and it is the duty of those persons to attend if so required.
(b) Where any Member or Officer is required to attend a Scrutiny Committee under this provision, the Chair of that Committee will inform the Assistant Director - Corporate Improvement, stating the nature of the item on which he/she is required to attend to give account and whether any papers are required to be produced for the Committee. Where the account to be given to the Committee will require the production of a report, then the Member or Officer concerned will be given sufficient notice to allow for preparation of that documentation.
(c) Where, in exceptional circumstances, the Member or Officer is unable to attend on the required date, then the Scrutiny Committee shall in consultation with the Member or Officer arrange an alternative date for attendance.
12 Attendance by others
A Scrutiny Committee may invite people other than those people referred to in paragraph 11 above to address it, discuss issues of local concern and/or answer questions. It may for example wish to hear from residents, stakeholders and Members and Officers in other parts of the public sector and shall invite such people to attend.
13 Call-In
(a) ‘Call-in’ should not be confused with the scrutiny of anticipated decisions before they are made (i.e. matters within the Forward Plan on which Scrutiny Committees can formulate proposals and recommendations.) ‘Call-in’ refers to the calling in of a decision after it is made but before it is implemented.
(b) Call-in should only be used in exceptional circumstances. These are where Members have evidence which suggests that issues have not been handled in accordance with the decision-making principles set out in this Constitution; where a key decision has been taken which was neither published in accordance with the requirements for the Forward Plan, not subject to the ‘general exception’ or ‘special urgency procedures’ set out in this Constitution or where a decision is outside the policy or budgetary framework.
(c) When a decision is made by the Cabinet the decision shall be published, including where possible by electronic means, and shall be available at the main offices of the Council normally within 5 days of being made. Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees will be sent copies of the records of all such decisions within the same timescale, by the person responsible for publishing the decision and where possible electronically.
(d) That notice will bear the date on which it is published and will specify that the decision will come into force, and may then be implemented, on the expiry of 5 working days after the publication of the decision, unless a Chair or Vice-Chair of a Scrutiny Committee together with 3 other Members of Scrutiny objects to it and calls it in.
(e) On receiving a call-in request, and on the Monitoring Officer being satisfied that the reasons for the call-in satisfy the requirements of this Constitution as set out at paragraph 13(b) above the Monitoring Officer shall notify the decision-taker of the call-in. He/she shall call a meeting of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee on such date as he/she may determine, where possible after consultation with the Chair of the Board and in any case within 10 days of the decision to call-in.
(f) If, having considered the decision, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee is still concerned about it, then it may refer it back to the decision making person or body for reconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of its concerns or (if the decision appears to be outside the Policy Framework) refer the matter to the Council Meeting. If referred to the decision maker that person or body shall then consider amending the decision or not, before adopting a final decision.
(g) If following an objection to the decision, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee does not meet within 10 days of the decision to call-in or does meet but does not refer the matter back to the decision making person or body, the decision shall take effect on the date of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, or the expiry of that 10 day period whichever is the earlier.
(h) If the matter was referred to the Council Meeting and the Council does not object to a decision which has been made, then no further action is necessary and the decision will be effective. However, if the Council Meeting does object, it has no right to make decisions in respect of a Cabinet decision unless it is contrary to the policy framework, or contrary to or not wholly consistent with the budget. Unless that is the case, the Council Meeting will refer any decision to which it objects back to the decision-making person or body, together with the Council Meeting’s views on the decision. That decision making body or person shall choose whether to amend the decision or not before reaching a final decision and implementing it.
(i) If the Council Meeting does not meet, or if it does but does not refer the decision back to the decision making body or person, the decision will become effective on the date of the Council meeting or expiry of the period in which the Council meeting should have been held, whichever is the earlier.
(j) The call-in procedure set out above shall not apply where the decision being taken by the Cabinet is urgent. A decision will be urgent if any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interests. The record of the decision, and notice by which it is made public shall state whether in the opinion of the decision making person or body, the decision is an urgent one, and therefore not subject to call-in. The Chair of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee must agree both that the decision proposed is reasonable in all the circumstances and to it being treated as a matter of urgency. In the absence of the relevant Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Comittee the Vice Chair’s consent shall be required. Decisions taken as a matter of urgency must be reported to the next available meeting of the Council, together with the reasons for urgency.
(k) The operation of the provisions relating to call-in and urgency shall be monitored annually, and a report submitted to Council with proposals for review if necessary.
14 Procedure at Scrutiny Committee Meetings
(a) Scrutiny Committees and Sub-Committees shall consider the following business:-
(i) minutes of the last meeting;(ii) consideration of any matter referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to call-in of a decision;(iii) responses of the Cabinet to reports of the Scrutiny Committees; and(iv) the business otherwise set out on the agenda for the meeting.
(b) Where the Scrutiny Committee conducts investigations (e.g. with a view to policy development), the Committee may also ask people to attend to give evidence at Committee meetings which are to be conducted in accordance with the following principles:
(i) that the investigation be conducted fairly and all Members of the Committee be given the opportunity to ask questions of attendees, and to contribute and speak;(ii) that those assisting the Committee by giving evidence be treated with respect and courtesy; and(iii) that the investigation be conducted so as to maximise the efficiency of the investigation or analysis.
(c) Following any investigation or review, the Committee/Sub-Committee shall prepare a report, for submission to the Cabinet and/or Council as appropriate and shall make its report and findings public.
15 Matters within the remit of more than one Scrutiny Committee
Where a Scrutiny Committee conducts a review or scrutinises a matter which also falls (whether in whole or in part) within the remit of another Scrutiny Committee, then the Committee conducting the review shall invite the Chair of the other Committee (or his/her nominee) to attend its meetings when the matter is being reviewed.
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