Good Overview and Scrutiny relies on evidence, which can be gathered from a wide range of people in many different ways. It might receive evidence from sources such as council officers, Elected Members, partner organisations, private business and members of the public. It is free to gather the evidence in a way that best suits the situation. This could be a traditional meeting, a site visit, a survey or a mystery shopper approach for example.

The focus of overview and scrutiny is essentially four fold.

1. Firstly, it is responsible for holding the Executive to account for its decisions in its leadership of the local authority. This power is best represented by the process of call-in, whereby a specific decision can be arrested and reviewed in a formal meeting with evidence from the decision maker and those calling in the decision. Following this and on the balance of the evidence received, the decision can be accepted or recommendations made to the decision-maker for it to be reconsidered or changed in some way.

2. Secondly, Overview and Scrutiny may decide to consider existing council policy or services to evaluate their effectiveness. Depending upon the evidence gathered it may be concluded that a policy or service is performing well, or recommendations may be made to improve or reshape the policy or service area.

3. Thirdly, Overview and Scrutiny has an important role to play in the Performance Management systems of the local authority. Each service area has targets and Key Performance Indicators to satisfy and that performance is reported upon. Overview and Scrutiny can be a very powerful force for improvement in highlighting areas of poor performance and investigating methods of improving that performance.

4. Finally, Overview and Scrutiny can engage in External Scrutiny. These initiatives are all concerned with ensuring local elected representatives have a greater say over public services which impact upon their communities, with the local electorate able to observe the transparent, evidence based Overview and Scrutiny process. Aside from specific service areas, local authorities also have a power to promote the social and economic wellbeing of the area. Using this power, Overview and Scrutiny can scrutinise any matter, which has an impact on a community. This contributes to the perspective that elected local representatives can and should play a crucial role in ‘place-shaping’ and influencing the future vitality of their community.

As a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2001, local authorities have a power to scrutinise the local provision of health services and areas of concern within public health. Recommendations can be made which the local NHS is legally obliged to respond to. Upcoming legislation will also provide local authorities with powers of scrutiny over local police services, which will operate in a similar fashion to health scrutiny.

If they are based on the strength of the evidence received Overview and Scrutiny’s recommendations can be a very powerful force for change and improvement, coming from local representatives with a democratic mandate. Consequently, it means that Overview and Scrutiny can be a highly influential function in the local community. Its evidence led reviews of existing services ensure that local people are receiving the services they require and deserve. Secondly, as a result of those reviews non-executive Members can play a significant role in the shaping of future policy that affects their community.