Overview and Scrutiny in Buckinghamshire
We carry out overview and scrutiny to improve the way we work and to make sure we get our decisions and policies right.
We do this by monitoring and questioning the work of the County Council, external service providers and organisations, such as the local health services and making recommendations for improvement.
County Councillors who are not members of the Cabinet can sit on one or more of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The committees look at decisions taken by the Cabinet and take into account the views and needs of local people. They also check the way services are provided and make suggestions for new policies or changes to existing policies. They can examine public concerns and make recommendations to improve matters.
At the heart of all this work County Councillors think about the impact the Cabinet's policies and plans have on the communities of Buckinghamshire, making sure that the right decisions are made.
How it works
Committees generally meet on a monthly basis and you are always welcome to come and listen to the discussions.
When the committees are looking at a particular topic, they will collect information by talking to people, visiting places and doing research. A committee may decide it would be better for a small group of members to do the work or the work may be done by the whole committee.
At the end of a piece of work the committee writes a report with recommendations for making improvements. Where the recommendations are about our services, Cabinet will be asked to agree them. Sometimes recommendations may be about other service providers and in these cases the relevant organisation will be asked to agree them. The committees then check the agreed recommendations have been put into practice.
If a committee is concerned about a Cabinet decision, it can call it in. This means they will examine the decision and the way it was made. If the committee is still concerned, it can ask the Cabinet to look at it again.
For more information call 01296 382486 or email scrutiny@buckscc.gov.uk
| File name | Summary | File size | Download time | File type |
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| What is Overview and Scrutiny | Fact sheet explaining what Overview and Scrutiny is all about | 21 k | 3 secs |  |