Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Member Briefing Select Commission 1 14 June 2011 The Role of Overview and Scrutiny

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Quotation from CfPS (Centre for Public Scrutiny) “Overview and Scrutiny is potentially the most exciting and powerful element of the entire local government modernisation process. It places members at the heart of policy-making and at the heart of the way in which Councils respond to the demands of modernisation. In addition, Overview and Scrutiny is the mechanism by which Councils can achieve active community leadership, good governance and by which Councillors can become powerful and influential politicians.”

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Overview & Scrutiny should: Enable rigorous public challenge to public authorities and organisations Ensure public services are responsive and meet the needs of the public Actively engage the public and partners Secure the effective promotion of community well-being through local governance Be based on evidence, not assumption Increase accountability

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Benefits Holds decision makers to account Improved transparency in local government Group working and participation helping to make informed decisions Research of issues, creating a greater understanding and also generating alternative options or solutions presented through focused reports Involvement of non-executive members, giving them opportunities for constructive participation in the decision making process A strong Overview and Scrutiny function should offer timely and constructive advice to the Executive and Council, ensuring that local perspectives influence decisions.

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed ‘Four Principles’ of Good Public Scrutiny 1.Providing a ‘critical friend’ challenge to Executive policy makers and decision makers 2.Providing a democratically recognised and respected opportunity for the public to voice their opinions, support or concerns 3.A leading forum, independent of the Executive, freely exercising its democratic function 4.A non-political force purposefully seeking improvement in public funded services

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Overview & Scrutiny: Wider View Holding the Executive to account: scrutinising decisions before implementation (call-in) Policy review Policy development Performance Management Ensuring Corporate priorities are met External Scrutiny Engaging partner organisations Engaging with the public Engaging with the media

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Structure The three Select Commissions are linked to the Corporate Priorities as follows: (a) Housing and Environment (Select Commission 1) (b) Crime and Regeneration (Select Commission 2) (c) Corporate Issues (Select Commission 3) The three Select Commissions are supported by: Select Commission Coordinating Committee (7 members: Select Commission Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen & Portfolio Holder for Corporate Issues)

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed ‘Call-in’ on Executive Decisions Executive Decisions that are subject to ‘call-in’ are those: a)Made by the Executive as a whole b)Made by individual members of the Executive c)Key decisions made by officers The Executive Decision shall be published within 2 working days of it being made The decision can be implemented after 5 working days from publication, during which time the Head of Paid Service shall ‘call-in’ a decision if any six non-Executive members make a request to do so

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed ‘Call-in’ on Executive Decisions (continued) The relevant Select Commission’s role once a decision is called-in: Review whether the decision is appropriate If considered not to be appropriate, request that the Executive considers the matter again If concerned by the decision, refer it back to the decision maker no later than 6 weeks from the date of the call-in Decision taker can uphold, amend or reject their original decision

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed ‘Call-in' Definitions Call-in: Decisions involving expenditure OR reduction in service in excess of £20,000 but in exceptional circumstances, matters under £20,000 with the approval of the Select Commission Chairman (or in their absence, the Vice-Chairman) Key Decision: Any decision in relation to an Executive function which results in the local authority incurring expenditure which is, or making savings with are, significant having regard to the local authority’s budget for the services or function Any decision not likely to involve significant expenditure or savings but which nevertheless are likely to be significant in terms of their effects on communities in two or more wards A decision taker may only make a key decision in accordance with the requirements of the Executive Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of the Constitution

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Scrutiny Skills: Asking Scrutiny is fact-finding, usually by asking Use open questions (not ones that can be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’) and plan your questions beforehand – have a question plan “What do you think about…?” “What are your feelings about…?” Who? Where? When? How? ‘Why’ is the most difficult and can provoke a defensive response. Use ‘why’ sparingly and not aggressively – use ‘why’ to clarify evidence

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Scrutiny Skills: Listening It is important to ‘listen’ to answers Do not interrupt: (a) It can be confrontational and will make the respondent defensive and less willing to impart information (b) The respondent may lose their concentration

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed Scrutiny Skills: Rapport Members are ‘generally’ not experts! Seeking information by building confidence and rapport with the respondent, showing interest in answers and being supportive Always summarise answers with the respondent to ensure you have correctly understood, to build on the trust and to encourage further elaboration which may generate further useful information

Executive Mayor : Tony Egginton Managing Director : Ruth Marlow Mansfield District Council Creating a District where People can Succeed How Overview & Scrutiny operates Meetings roughly every six weeks Briefings from relevant Portfolio Holder Calling expert witnesses and interest groups for a topic Research on good practice Site visits Demonstrations Training Officer support from Democratic Services