Issue - meetings

Each year the Scrutiny Annual Report (attached at Annex 1) provides a summary of the work and impact of the council’s three scrutiny committees; Performance Scrutiny, Education Scrutiny and Health Overview & Scrutiny, and any Cabinet Advisory Groups appointed by Cabinet during the year.

The report (CC13) is structured by committee and highlights where the committees’ influence has been greatest. It emphasises the areas where scrutiny has had a tangible impact on decision-making and held decision-makers to account.

In the face of budget pressures across the local authority and the NHS locally, the role of scrutiny has become increasingly important for ensuring the needs of Oxfordshire residents are at the forefront of decisions about local services. 

To ensure that scrutiny continues to robustly challenge and influence the decisions of the council and Health partners, officers and members identified a range of practical steps to improve the effectiveness of the council’s existing scrutiny arrangements. This has focused on enabling more flexible, councillor-led scrutiny that centres on priority areas for Oxfordshire and balances this against areas of emerging concern.

Both the Audit and Governance Committee and Performance Scrutiny Committee have reviewed this report and its layout and content have been amended to reflect their comments. 

The Council is RECOMMENDED to receive the report.

The recommendations were agreed nem con.

The Council had before it the Scrutiny Annual Report which provided a summary of the work and impact of the council’s three scrutiny committees; Performance Scrutiny, Education Scrutiny and Health Overview & Scrutiny, and any Cabinet Advisory Groups appointed by Cabinet during the year.

The report (CC13) was structured by committee and highlighted where the committees’ influence had been greatest. It emphasised the areas where scrutiny had a tangible impact on decision-making and held decision-makers to account.

Both the Audit and Governance Committee and Performance Scrutiny Committee had reviewed this report and its layout and content had been amended to reflect their comments. 

RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Brighouse, seconded by Councillor Waine and carried nem con) to receive the report.