The Scrutiny and Overview Committee
consists of 14 non-executive Members. This means that none of them
is a Cabinet member. In 2023-24, the Committee is made up of 11
Liberal Democrats and three Conservatives, which reflects
representation on the Council as a whole. The Committee is chaired
by a member of the Opposition Conservative Group. It has a
statutory remit to hold the Executive (Cabinet) to account and make
sure that the Council and its partner organisations deliver the
best possible services to the residents of South Cambridgeshire and
that all decisions made have a positive outcome.
The Scrutiny and Overview Committee
maintains its own work programme. The basis of this is pre-decision
scrutiny and is determined by the Committee Chair and Vice-Chair
selecting issues from the Cabinet Forward Plan so that the
Committee can review them before they go to Cabinet, adding
comments and making recommendations with the aim of adding value
and improving the quality of decision-making where
possible.
Members may decide that additional
scrutiny is required of a particular service area. This could
include for example setting up a task and finish group or
suggesting topics that aren’t on the Cabinet Forward
Plan.
The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny
has developed ‘four principles of good scrutiny’. These
are to:
·
provide constructive ‘critical
friend’ challenge
·
amplify the voices and concerns of
residents
·
be led by independently minded people
who take responsibility for their role
·
drive improvement in public
services
For more information, please
visit the Centre for Governance and
Scrutiny (external
website).
Legislative
background
Local Government Overview and Scrutiny
was established by the Local Government Act 2000.
This Act created an
‘Executive’ which at South Cambridgeshire District
Council consists of a Leader and Cabinet. To provide a check and
balance to this power, the same Act required Councils to establish
at least one Overview and Scrutiny committee.
Call-in
One of Scrutiny’s most powerful
tools is the ability to ‘call in’ any decision made by
the Cabinet or a Lead Cabinet Member or
key decision made by an officer. At SCDC a decision is key if it
involves the Council spending or saving over £200,000 or if
it significantly affects two or more wards. Pre-decision scrutiny
has dramatically reduced the incidence of call-in but,
nevertheless, Executive decisions cannot be implemented until after
the expiry of the call-in period (five clear working
days).
Once called in, the Committee will
review the Cabinet’s decision and do one of the
following:
·
Refer it back to the decision making
person or body for reconsideration, setting out in writing the
nature of its concerns and any alternative recommendations. This
will normally be considered at the decision making body’s
next schedule meeting; or
·
If it considers that the decision is
outside the Council’s Budget and Policy Framework, refer the
matter to the Council after seeking the advice of the Monitoring
Officer and/or Chief Financial Officer; or
·
Decide to take no further action, in
which case the original executive decision will be effective
immediately.
Task and Finish
Groups
Task and Finish Groups are time-
limited, cross-party groups which are established to examine a
particular topic in more detail. They meet in private but then
report back to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee which can make
recommendations to Cabinet.
On 5 October 2023 Full Council adopted
recommendations from Cabinet based on an investigation by the
Young People Task and Finish Group (agenda item
8(b)).
Further
information
·
Agendas and Minutes
·
Scrutiny Procedure Rules (SCDC Constitution)
·
Annual Scrutiny Report to Full Council – May
2023