Scrutiny is about making local councils accountable for the standard of public services they provide.
The new political management changes at Eden have created an exciting and expanded role for Scrutiny that requires public involvement and consultation.
The role of Overview and Scrutiny can be summarised under five main headings:
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Holding the Council's Executive to account
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Holding other agencies, including local partners to account for the way services are being run in Eden
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Monitoring performance
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Policy review and development
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Representing the community and promoting the best interests and well being of Eden
31 Councillors are now involved in the Overview/Scrutiny role. They have been nominated on to four Panels, each comprising eight/nine Members (some Councillors may sit on more than one Panel).
To achieve political balance, each political group is represented proportionally - reflecting the number of Members each group has on the entire Council. The four Panels are:
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Governance Panel - this is primarily used as an audit committee and receives reports concerning finance, audits and related policies and strategies
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Performance Panel - this Panel monitors the Corporate Plan (the Council's priorities for service provision in the District), performance and the improvement agenda
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Housing and Communities Panel - this Panel has a broad remit including Affordable Housing, Homelessness, Cultural Services and Community Safety
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Environment and Economy Panel - this Panel also has a broad remit including Transport, Environmental Health, Waste and Recycling, Economic Development, Tourism and Planning Policy
The Scrutiny Co-ordinating Board which comprises the four Panel Chairmen is responsible for co-ordinating the work programmes and monitoring the progress of scrutiny reviews.
Because of the constraints on time and finance, it will not be possible to carry out a review of every topic raised. Therefore, we have laid down some critieria for selecting topics for Scrutiny to investigate. This is broken down into seven key questions:
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Is the issue/topic a concern for local communities?
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Can Scrutiny make a difference?
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Does this issue contribute to Corporate Priorites?
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Does the issue impact of Council expenditure?
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Is the issue/topic within the Executive's Forward Plan?
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Are they issues from external reports (e.g. concern of the Audit Commission)?
For further information
Further information about the scrutiny function at Eden District Council may be obtained by contacting the Scrutiny Officer.
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Contact: Scrutiny Officer, Corney Square, Penrith, Cumbria CA11 7QF
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Telephone: 01768 212180
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Email: scrutiny@eden.gov.uk
