Bristol City Council Basic information about the Scrutiny system in Bristol City Council

Since the Local Government Act 2000, Councils must have both an Executive function, which makes major decisions, and a Scrutiny and Overview function..

Scrutiny and Overview is a mechanism for backbench councillors to:
- examine executive proposals and decisions
- monitor the Council’s performance
- contribute to policy-making.
In addition, Scrutiny now has statutory powers to scrutinise the work and performance of partnerships and partners, in relation to Health, Crime and Disorder and LAA.

Different councils structure this in different ways. In Bristol:

· A Cabinet, currently made up of 8 Executive Members, is responsible for taking major decisions, bound by a policy framework set by Full Council.

· Each Executive Member has a different portfolio ie. responsibility for a particular area of activity

· Scrutiny and Overview complements this executive decision-making system through the following bodies:

o Scrutiny Commissions each oversee a specific broad area of work. They meet 6-7 times per year.

o Select Committees deal with one topic in depth and are time-limited. Two or three run each year

o Scrutiny Enquiry Days are day-long in-depth reviews

The Scrutiny system is guided and co-ordinated by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSM). This is a committee of elected members which sets up scrutiny commissions, select committees and enquiry days, agrees their terms of reference and work programmes and monitors their activities.

Scrutiny Commissions and Select Committees 2009-10

Scrutiny Commissions

· Community Cohesion and Safety

· Children’s Services

· Health and Adult Social Care

· Quality of Life

· Resources

· Sustainable Development and Transport

Joint Scrutiny Commissions

There are also three scrutiny committees which are joint with neighbouring local authorities. These scrutinise decisions which are made on a regional basis:

· Joint Health Scrutiny Committee

· West of England Joint Partnership Scrutiny Committee

· Joint Ambulance Committee

Select Committees

This year’s select committees will be::

· Adult Education

· Third Sector Commissioning

How do Scrutiny Commissions operate?

· Scrutiny Commissions are initiated and led by councillors

· Membership consists of backbench (ie. non-executive) councillors of all parties, and commissions may also offer co-opted membership to appropriate external agencies.

· Scrutiny Commissions have considerable influence and achieve their impact and effect change by making recommendations to the Cabinet, Executive Members, Full Council or partnerships. They do not themselves make decisions about Council policy or practice .

· Scrutiny Commission meetings are open to the public, and have a slot on the agenda for public statements. Their agendas and minutes are available to the public.

· All scrutiny commissions and select committee are set up by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the beginning of the municipal year and run until the end. The municipal year runs from early May (after the local government elections) until the following April 30th. In 2009-10 the Municipal year started a month later, in early June.

· Scrutiny Commissions agree a programme of work at the beginning of the year – this is publicly available on the Council’s website as part of the agenda papers for each meeting.

· It is standard practice for Scrutiny Commissions to invite people with relevant experience or knowledge to give evidence as expert witnesses. Such experts may be Council officers, external agencies, academics, voluntary organisations, community or campaign groups, local residents, service users etc. This brings a wider expertise to bear on the examination and discussion of issues, and enables a more thorough exploration.

· Scrutiny may also co-opt external organisations or equalities fora as ongoing (non-voting) members of the commission if there is a strong reason for their participation.

If you would like any further information about the scrutiny system , please contact Jude Williams, Scrutiny Officer, 0117 922 2206, judy.williams@bristol.gov.uk

Community Cohesion and Safety Scrutiny Commission

Community Cohesion and Safety Scrutiny Commission is a new commission.

It is the Council’s statutory Crime and Disorder Committee, the purpose of which is to ‘scrutinise the work of the community safety partnership (Safer Bristol) and the partners who comprise it, insofar as their activities relate to the partnership itself’ (Home Office Guidelines).

It also scrutinises the Council’s Community Cohesion work.

The commission’s work programme chiefly relates to

• the portfolio of the Executive Member for the Environment and Community Safety
• the Neighbourhoods Directorate

Membership

Seven Councillors (proportionate to political party seats – four Liberal Democrat, two Conservative, one Labour)

The Commission is chaired by Cllr.Sue O’Donnell (Liberal Democrat)

The commission may also include co-opted members, as decided at the Annual Business Meeting.

Work programme and meetings

The Commission decides on a work programme at the first meeting of the year, and an updated version of this is published in the formal papers for each commission meeting.

Dates of commission meetings and meeting papers are available on the Council’s website, under Council and Democracy.

For further information about the commission and its work, please contact Jude Williams, Scrutiny Officer, 0117 922 2206, email: judy.williams@bristol.gov.uk