Scrutiny
Committees
There are four Scrutiny Committees that support the work of the
Executive and the Council as a whole. They allow Members to
consider Council matters in greater detail leading to reports and
recommendations which advise Executive on its policies,
budget and service delivery. They may
also be consulted by the Executive on forthcoming decisions and the
development of policy.
The
Committees monitor the decisions of the Executive or an individual
Member of the Cabinet. It can, in certain circumstances, consider
‘calling-in’ a decision that has been made by the
Executive or an individual member of the Cabinet but not yet
implemented. This enables the Committee to consider whether the
decision is appropriate and ensure that all evidence has been
presented to Executive for it to make the right
decision.
The
Committee reviews the Council’s performance within the
Performance Management Framework and makes recommendations to the
Executive/Service areas as appropriate, to ensure good performance
levels are maintained.
The
Committees also receive requests from Members in respect of
Councillor Calls for Action.
Each
Scrutiny Committee sets a Work Programme of internal scrutiny for
the year and monitors progress against it. The Council’s
Forward Plan of Key Decisions & Items to be Considered in
Private, is considered at every meeting to enable advanced
consideration of proposed key decisions.
Finance and
Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee
The
Finance and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee has the following
specific responsibilities:
-
Audit
-
Accountancy
-
Procurement
-
Improvement and Performance Monitoring
-
Payroll
-
Treasury Management
-
Annual budget setting process
-
Budget Monitoring
-
Monitoring collection rates for Council Tax and other
income
-
Societal Impact of any Budget Reductions
-
Reviewing the financial and value for money outcome of the
implementation of strategic projects
The
Finance and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee may also cover
the following areas:
-
Environment
-
Legal Requirements
-
Governance
-
Staffing and other resources for projects