CHAPTER 4
The role of the member1. INTRODUCTION
The role of the member in the overview and scrutiny process is developing over time, as members become more familiar with executive or alternative arrangements and the purpose and focus of overview and scrutiny (Overview and Scrutiny). Indeed, the role of the member in overview and scrutiny is likely to be one of perpetual development and change rather than the staid certainty of role provided for by the old committee system. Councils across the country are clearly at different stages when it comes to member engagement in the overview and scrutiny process and we rarely found an entirely positive reaction from members to it.
It is an often-heard complaint from members across the country that: ‘officers control this council’ or that they feel relatively powerless against what they consider to be an officer driven system. Or, that policy appeared to be developed elsewhere and handed to many members to simply agree in committee, or at best tinker with at the margins, either in committee or group. Whether a council and its policies are officer or member driven is, of course, in the hands of members to decide. Many members have realised the potentially powerful role that overview and scrutiny provides them in terms of policy initiation and development and in the broader processes of governance and community leadership. Such potential for member control, however, rests on members developing new skills, approaches and interpretations of their role as a councillor. Moreover, members as individuals, have a very specific responsibility for the conduct and development of overview and scrutiny and their part in it. The chapter explores those responsibilities and the new set of expectations that surround individual members within the Overview and Scrutiny process.
Overview and scrutiny provides members with the opportunity to experiment with form, process and approach in conducting their activities. It also provides the opportunity to develop an entirely new set of political and personal dynamics in the conduct of council business and wider public affairs. Members in some authorities have recognised that overview and scrutiny enables them to develop fully their politically representative role. Moreover, overview and scrutiny enables members to pursue a wide range of political interests, external to the running of the council, that the old committee system had squeezed out of the member’s role.
It is vital that members take responsibility for developing their own role as an individual within the Overview and Scrutiny process rather than seeing Overview and Scrutiny as only a collective process, carried out by groups of members acting in the same way. Overview and Scrutiny provides an opportunity for members to pursue specific areas of interest and to explore issues which motivate and interest them politically, in a way that the committee system did not allow. Moreover, members will be able to focus on their own political concerns and broad issues of governance that sit outside the council’s immediate responsibility for particular service provision. Overview and Scrutiny means members can develop their potential as politicians, not elected officers and managers. But, to do this, individual members must carefully focus on what they can add to, or gain from, the process of Overview and Scrutiny. Developing this individual focus is assisted by considering the member’s role in Overview and Scrutiny as falling very broadly into the following categories: developing and initiating policy; relationships with the executive; internal and external scrutiny; and, the member as a political and local representative.
2. DEVELOPING AND INITIATING POLICY:
THE MEMBER AND OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINYOverview and scrutiny has the potential to provide members with a powerful role in the policy initiation and development process. Whilst the degree to which members have used overview and scrutiny as part of the policy process varies between councils, there are a number of positive lessons from those that have embraced overview and scrutiny for its policy potential for individual members. Members, individually, need to develop a new stock of skills and a new set of approaches to policy work very different to those required under the committee system. Table 17 sets out the new approaches required of members:
Table 17 Overview and scrutiny member approaches to policy work
- Investigative
needs questioning, probing, listening and analysis –
not point-making or scoring
- Exploratory
- Inquisitorial
- Deliberative
- Evidence based but reflective of political philosophy
- Recognising Overview and Scrutiny is a process not a single meeting
- In-depth, single issue events rather than broad multi-issue agenda driven events
- Developing a rolling programme of activity
- Cross-cutting and integrative policy work
- Externally, as well as internally focused activity
Table 18 Member involvement in, and decisions needed for, in-depth policy development and review work
A fixed period of Overview and Scrutiny activity agreed beforehand by members
The creation by members of a ‘terms of reference’ for the investigation
Calling of independent and expert witnesses
Hearing of evidence from stakeholders, communities and citizens, led by members
Member visits, information and data collection: qualitative and quantitative
Commissioning of independent research and reports by members
A series of events at which members sift, discuss and assess evidence gathered
The production of interim reports on the issue to council, cabinet and the public – ‘owned’, if not written, by members
Checking of member responses to evidence and data with stakeholders, communities, citizens and experts
Final report to council and or cabinet – with provision for a minority report if felt necessary (such a report will not emanate from the minority group, but from a cross party minority on the Overview and Scrutiny committee conducting the exploration)
Decision by council and/or cabinet reported to Overview and Scrutiny
Review and up-date by Overview and Scrutiny of the implementation or development of the policy – with targets and criteria for assessment (the latter also designed by Overview and Scrutiny)
Taking responsibility for the process, outcomes and outputs of the review and its recommendations
Of course not all Overview and Scrutiny explorations or undertakings will be of this extended and detailed nature, many will not require the full-blown approach. All Overview and Scrutiny events, however, will need to be conducted in the same spirit and with the same willingness to experiment, challenge and explore as is inherent in the above approach. Vital to the whole relationship between Overview and Scrutiny and the policy process is that members take full control of which policy problems and solutions are explored and how that exploration takes place. Finally, members need to take responsibility for, and ownership of, the outputs and outcomes of Overview and Scrutiny policy work.
3. THE ROLE OF MEMBERS IN HOLDING DECISION-MAKERS TO ACCOUNT
It is vital that all members take an equal and individual part in scrutinising and challenging executive (or policy committee under alternative arrangements) decisions and actions, and this is equally true for members of the ruling group as well as of the minority group(s). Yet, as discussed in Chapter 2, majority members are faced with challenging the actions of an executive – or policy committee – from their own party and which they helped to put in place. As a consequence, majority members can often see their role as one of supporting the executive, rather than having an important role in holding it to account. Such a position is understandable, as majority members will question challenge and criticise their leadership in the privacy of their party group meeting. Yet, it is vital that holding the executive to account is not seen solely as a minority group exercise. Indeed, it would do a majority group little good if the public felt that Overview and Scrutiny was giving the executive or individual executive members an easy ride. Such an approach could damage the party’s prospects whereas challenging and probing public deliberation amongst all members can raise the party’s public standing.
Scrutiny provides majority, as well as minority members, with a powerful investigative tool when it comes to considering executive (or policy committee) activity. A tool which members must ensure they employ to good use and in public. The member acting in Overview and Scrutiny when it comes to executive scrutiny has the responsibility to see his or her self as an Overview and Scrutiny member first and a party member second. A difficult transition is required here for members, as party culture sets the party and its prospects, above all else. Not only elected members, but the wider party of which he or she is a member, must be prepared to realise that when scrutinising the executive, the individual member has a duty and responsibility to the electorate and to good governance that transcends party loyalty. Members themselves have the responsibility to make this duty real when it comes to executive scrutiny.
4. CONDUCTING REVIEWS: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
As with the policy development role of the member in Overview and Scrutiny, it is vital when conducting reviews to avoid an approach which replicates that of the traditional service committee. When conducting an internal review, that is, one focused entirely, or at least in the most part, on services provided, or contracted by the council, Overview and Scrutiny provides members with an opportunity to question any officers they deem necessary. Members are no longer confined to hearing the presentation of reports by a head of service, or some other senior officer, and then asking questions about that report. They now have the opportunity to explore service management and quality issues with the entire officer body.
Members have displayed considerable political skill when it comes to the potentially tricky business of interviewing officers about service concerns. Indeed, interesting experiments have taken place where junior officers have been interviewed as part of a scrutiny review, but not in front of a full scrutiny panel, rather at their own work place, by one or two members. As part of such a process the members have ‘shadowed’ the officer to experience service concerns at the sharp end of delivery. In this way, Overview and Scrutiny can penetrate service concerns to a far greater extent, and uncover a much broader and richer source of information, than was hitherto the case under more traditional committee meetings. It is clear that Overview and Scrutiny often stands or falls by the way in which individual members approach their new roles and responsibilities and how they develop new political skills.
Table 19 draws together a range of examples of how members have approached an internal review of council services.
Table 19 Member activity in an internal review
Questioning and receiving evidence from council officers
Questioning and receiving evidence from experts, citizens, service users and stakeholders
Shadowing officers at their workplace
Conducting interviews and questioning officers at their workplace
‘Mystery shopping’
Visiting other authorities and providers
Small groups/sub-group teams to conduct research and exploration of specific issues
Involving local newspapers and radio to generate public interest
Receiving officer reports
Producing final Overview and Scrutiny reports
Member Activity in an Internal Review: Camden’s Corporate Parenting Review
When Camden undertook an early pilot scrutiny into the Council’s performance on corporate parenting, panel members investigated the topic in a number of innovative and effective ways:
Members paired up and visited two children’s residential care homes to talk to staff and looked after children;
Members attended a Beacon conference to ascertain how Camden compared with beacon authorities;
Members sat on fostering and adoption panels to see how the Council put its policies into practice; and,
The Chair of the panel also visited the Camden Foster Carers Association to talk to its members directly.
Conducting an external review requires considerable energy, enthusiasm and time on the part of the Overview and Scrutiny member. Such reviews, commissions, select committees or panels, as councils have variously described them, are a vital element of the council’s community leadership role and of the role of the member within it. Indeed, they are also a vital way in which members can champion the wards or divisions they represent, as well as the broader concerns of the entire council area. Such external reviews place the individual member at centre stage and require a recognition that the member has the potential to direct and influence the activities of other powerful organisations and agencies that impact on the quality of life of local communities.
Two of the authorities within which the research for this report was conducted had carried out an Overview and Scrutiny exploration of experiences of recent floods. Through Overview and Scrutiny: members received evidence from the Environment Agency, respective water companies, and a range of other experts; members conducted visits of affected areas, spoke to landowners and residents; and commissioned research by independent bodies. As a result of these investigations, the councils concerned were not only able to augment their own role in flood defence, but have a powerful influence over the policies and activities of a wide range of agencies. Moreover, they were able to produce reports based on evidence collected from experts in the field, whilst also being able to respond to citizen and community concerns.
It is vital that all external reviews: are on areas identified by members; are driven by member enthusiasm and energy; place members in the role of collecting, sifting and assessing evidence; and finally, see members producing recommendations or proposals. Table 20 summarises the potential range of this member activity. They are not only collective activities to be carried out by the Overview and Scrutiny committee’s membership but also a set of expectations that each and every member should meet.
Table 20 Member activity in an external review
Identifying the agency, body or issue for the review and advising them of the fact – at the same time emphasising the scope for collaborative working
Receiving oral and written evidence from experts, citizens and stakeholders
Commissioning external research
Providing opportunities for the subject of the review (where an agency or body) to give evidence and debate issues
Visiting a range of relevant organisations, such as local hospitals
‘Mystery shopping’
Using the local media to engage the public
Experiencing issues first hand. In one case members experienced the problems of wheelchair access by attempting to negotiate a town centre in wheel chairs
Producing member led interim reports
Producing member led final reports which have been made publicly available and specifically circulated to; full council, the executive, the agency or body concerned and, the local media
5. THE MEMBER, Overview and Scrutiny AND THE REPRESENTATIVE ROLE
In general terms, overview and scrutiny serves the member’s representative role by providing a forum in which the interests of groups of constituents, communities, or the ward or division represented can be pursued. Members, acting as a conduit for their electoral areas can use a wide range of Overview and Scrutiny events to articulate the views and opinions of the community and to feed them into the policy development or service review process.
Public engagement is crucial to successful overview and scrutiny; the member’s local networks, knowledge, connections and profile are key resources to ensuring the that the public are engaged in, and are aware of, the role that Overview and Scrutiny plays in community representation. The flexible nature of the Overview and Scrutiny process, when compared to more traditional committees, provides members with opportunities to give voice to local concerns and to employ their local knowledge to the benefit of the council’s policy making process. Moreover, members can create an environment within an Overview and Scrutiny event that is far more conducive to public engagement and involvement than the traditional committee. It is the responsibility of members to ensure that Overview and Scrutiny events are accessible to the public and, where appropriate, are conducted in a fashion that generates public inclusion.
Some councils have developed area committees (or area forums) which have been given a scrutiny role within their respective areas. As a consequence, the member’s local role, linkages and knowledge are vital to developing effective scrutiny and community engagement at this level. An area dimension to the Overview and Scrutiny process will ensure that Overview and Scrutiny activities are immediate to the concerns of local people and located within the very communities they serve. Such areas as are covered by local committees or forums must be neighbourhoods recognisable to the member and the public and not designed for administrative convenience.
Whilst members develop clear links with the wards or divisions they represent, councils need to recognise the importance of the local representative role. Members must review the support the council provides them in conducting their politically representative role, it is as vital a service to the community as any other provided by the council and must be seen as such by all members and officers. The following resources have been allocated to members in some councils, with the intention of strengthening the representative role and in linking securely to the Overview and Scrutiny process.
Table 21 The member’s representative toolbox
Administrative, policy and secretarial support linked to ward/divisional responsibilities
Patch Resources – for example, Bedfordshire’s Community fund (£6,000 per member for supporting the voluntary sector in their division)
Meeting place resources within the ward/division
A profile of community groups and organisations based or active within the ward/division
A profile of council and other public bodies active within the ward/division
A ward/division development plan
A ward/division based citizens’ panel
Leaflet production and distribution
Ward/division pages or links to the councils internet site
Accessible process by which citizens and communities can request Overview and Scrutiny reviews, linked to the work of area forum/committee (if in existence)
6. REVIEWING AND DEVELOPING MEMBER SKILLS
A constant theme of this chapter has been the need for members to develop new skills and approaches to the conduct of their activities. Members need to be fully aware of their current strengths and weakness when it comes to their role. As such, councils should be supporting members with training needs reviews and assessments and creating personal development plans for individual members in the same way, and arguably to the same extent, as with officer training and development. Such reviews should concern not only new skill acquisition or the development of existing skills, but also supporting members in achieving degree and masters level qualifications.
Members must see developing skills they have, obtaining new ones and achieving a range of qualifications, as a vital part of their overall activity as a councillor. Councils and members need to be more positive about the role of member training, presenting it to the electorate as a vital part of providing high quality services and good governance to the area. We would not countenance a poorly trained and qualified officer corp and neither should we countenance providing members with anything less than many and varied opportunities for high quality training and development opportunities. Individual members should be expected to take part in such training and development opportunities as an integral part of their role as a councillor.
Members will need to consider, amongst others, the areas for development listed in Table 22.
Table 22 Reviewing the personal development needs of members
Questioning skills designed for different audiences and purposes
Debating and deliberation – including public speaking
Chairing scrutiny committees
Presentational skills
IT and computer skills
Negotiation
Report writing
Media presentation – newspaper, radio or television
Research skills
In addition, supporting members in obtaining degree qualifications such as:
First degrees
Masters degrees
Research degrees
7. CONCLUSION
The effectiveness of the overview and scrutiny process depends, above all else, on the approach taken to it by the individual member. Resourcing and support as well as a commitment from all concerned to training and developing members are required to undertake this new role. Moreover, Overview and Scrutiny must be recognised as providing members with a politically influential role, far in advance of that provided to them by the traditional committee system. Members can ask themselves: ‘what role do I wish to play and how can I engage my political interests through Overview and Scrutiny’? Moreover, it is up to members to make Overview and Scrutiny a powerful part of the new council constitutions akin to a US style senatorial committee or a House of Commons select committee.
Those councils that have recognised the potential of Overview and Scrutiny and have resourced it accordingly have been able to develop Overview and Scrutiny as a key element of their community leadership role and as a consequence to engage the public and stakeholders in Overview and Scrutiny activities. Moreover, members have been able to develop their politically representative role, freed from attention to the minutiae of service delivery. Indeed, Overview and Scrutiny has, in many councils, given members the opportunity to rediscover why they became involved in local government and politics in the first place. But, those opportunities have only been realised because individual members have taken responsibility for changing and developing their own very specific role and focus within the council. They have taken charge of the way in which Overview and Scrutiny conducts its activities, how it links to other parts of the modernised council and they have driven forward Overview and Scrutiny as a vital part of the processes of community engagement and leadership. Overview and Scrutiny puts members in the driving seat, but only if members are committed to it.
Published 17 October 2002
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