CHAPTER 10
Relationship to other components of the modernisation agenda1. INTRODUCTION
Local government modernisation is a multi-faceted process. Overview and scrutiny (Overview and Scrutiny) can be seen as the glue that binds together all the elements of the modernisation agenda. It not only binds together the internal structures of the executive (or policy committees) and full council, but also the council’s role as a community leader, linked to the well-being power, the new ethical framework, partnership arrangements and best value. Many of our case study authorities had recognised the potential of overview and scrutiny to play a vital, integrative role when it came to the business of modernising the council. Moreover, the structure of Overview and Scrutiny and the conduct of Overview and Scrutiny events reflected a much wider set of processes than those required simply to maintain the internal organisation and running of the council.
2. COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AND WELL-BEING
Overview and scrutiny is a key mechanism by which a council can give life to its community leadership role and develop imaginative approaches to the use of the well-being power. In a number of our case study authorities, Overview and Scrutiny committees took the lead in identifying issues of priority to the community; consulting citizens and stakeholder groups on policy options; using the flexibility Overview and Scrutiny provides to conduct events outside the council chamber in the community; and recognising and articulating community demands. Moreover, those councils that had established clear reporting relationships between Overview and Scrutiny and the executive (or policy committees) and full council were able to respond, positively, to community opinion and the integrate community consultation into the policy making process.
High profile Overview and Scrutiny events in some of our case study authorities captured the attention of the media and as a consequence were able to reach a wider range of citizens. Indeed, in one council the chair of an Overview and Scrutiny committee had a higher public and media profile and recognition factor than the equivalent portfolio holder from the same council. It is the ability of Overview and Scrutiny to explore a whole range of policy issues, linked to the activities of a range of public and private bodies and agencies, that impact on the quality of life of communities, that places Overview and Scrutiny at the forefront of the community leadership agenda.
One of our case study authorities recognised that external scrutiny will often be of a cross-cutting nature and organised the work of Overview and Scrutiny around a number of themes rather than named service activities. Such arrangements meant that Overview and Scrutiny not only looked at external agencies and organisations, but always explored the council’s role in addressing the issue in question. Thus, the council did not put internal and external Overview and Scrutiny in separate boxes, but integrated the focus of its Overview and Scrutiny explorations to influence not only what other organisations did, but its own response to policy problems.
The power to promote the well-being of the local community has a clear link to community leadership. By using Overview and Scrutiny to explore community concerns and then designing imaginative responses to those concerns based on the well-being power, councils display commitment and dynamism when it comes to being seen as a community leader. Again, it is the ability of Overview and Scrutiny to operate in an entirely different fashion to old style committees that means it puts time, energy and resources into developing responses and solutions to policy problems using the well-being power.
Each and every council needs to give explicit recognition to the powerful contribution that Overview and Scrutiny can make when it comes to the council’s community leadership role. Indeed, the linkage between Overview and Scrutiny and community leadership could be made no more explicit than if a clause to that effect were contained within each council’s written constitution. Moreover, a similar recognition by councils that Overview and Scrutiny is the place where the well-being power is developed and employed also strengthens the role of Overview and Scrutiny generally and members of Overview and Scrutiny committees in particular.
3. ETHICAL STANDARDS
Whilst the standards committee has responsibility for developing the council’s ethical framework, ensuring the code of conduct is adhered to and developing an ethical environment for the council, Overview and Scrutiny needs to be integrated into that process. We found little evidence amongst our case study authorities that the need for such integration of Overview and Scrutiny and the council’s ethical environment had been recognised. The standards committee was seen, understandably, as the conduit for good ethical practice into the council’s activities. Yet, Overview and Scrutiny committees do have a role to play here also. Not merely to ensure its own activities are conducted to high ethical standards, but also in developing polices which assist in maintaining and developing an ethical environment.
A clear link and a good working relationship between the standards committee and an appropriate, or indeed all, Overview and Scrutiny committee(s) is necessary for each to be informed of the others activities and areas of current policy investigation. Indeed the standards committee may find it needs to request Overview and Scrutiny support for aspects of its policy development work particularly if, as in some councils, the standards committee have taken a wide interpretation of its brief. In such circumstances, standards committees have taken on an Overview and Scrutiny approach to their work and look at very broad issues of governance, including how to influence the ethical standards of other organisations and agencies and of the community itself.
If the standards committee of a local authority has taken a narrow interpretation of its role, and focused on ‘policing’ the code of conduct and little else, then Overview and Scrutiny needs to take on the wider ethical mantle. There is, however, a clear need to ensure a strong working relationship between Overview and Scrutiny, the standards committee and the monitoring officer, to avoid duplication of work and effort. Using its exploratory and evidence gathering ability, Overview and Scrutiny is well placed to promote good ethical conduct within the council, the community and a wide range of other private and public bodies. By so doing, it not only ensures that Overview and Scrutiny activity is conducted to high ethical standards, but that the promotion of high ethical standards beyond the council itself becomes a vital part of community leadership, thus, integrating all aspects of the modernising agenda.
4. PARTNERSHIP WORKING
Partnership working will continue to be vital to the way in which local government conducts a wide range of its activities. Councils have developed a number of different relationships with a wide range of partner organisations, some of which will be other statutory bodies, some of which will be private organisations and others will be collections of citizens and community groups. Those partnership bodies assist in the development of public policy and help in the setting of council priorities. They work closely with councils on a day to day basis and are part of the process of spending public money. Moreover, many partnerships will have close working relationships with the council’s executive, or with individual portfolio holders.
Partnership work needs to be held to account and Overview and Scrutiny is clearly the function that is so organised to ensure the openness, transparency and accountability of all the partnerships with which a council is engaged. Such a role for Overview and Scrutiny was recognised in two of our case study authorities. In the first, a debate was being conducted about the nature of partnership accountability. The chair of one of the council’s scrutiny committees was pressing the Leader of the council for a place on a particular partnership body – in an observer capacity.
In the second council, Overview and Scrutiny committees were exploring how they could structure a relationship with a number of partnership bodies and were particularly concerned to ensure transparency and openness of decision-making and accountability for public expenditure. In this council, the Leader was actively supporting Overview and Scrutiny in the development of its partnership focus, having recognised the potential of Overview and Scrutiny in this area. The council were about to experiment with treating partnership bodies in the same way as any other external Overview and Scrutiny exploration they might conduct: calling witnesses from a partnership for question and debate; exploring expert evidence; investigating the activity of similar partnerships; and, reporting to the executive, full council and the partnership itself on their findings.
Overview and Scrutiny provides the public space and political process to ensure openness, transparency, accountability, responsiveness and sound ethical conduct amongst the entire network of any one council’s partnership working. To do so it needs political will and support from the decision-makers and a good reporting structure to the executive/policy committees and full council. It is quite clear that Overview and Scrutiny is the key to accountable partnership working for all councils.
5. BEST VALUE
All our case study authorities had recognised the link between securing best value and Overview and Scrutiny, but had responded to this link in a variety of different ways. Those responses rest on a continuum from minimal Overview and Scrutiny involvement in best value, to scrutiny committees being the vehicle by which best value is pursued. One authority had separated best value reviews from the standing Overview and Scrutiny committees to be dealt with by a number of best value monitoring working groups, which reported directly to the executive on their findings. Another authority gave its scrutiny committees responsibility for best value reviews and scrutiny of the best value performance plan produced by the executive. In addition, the scrutiny committees monitored the implementation of the outcome of best value reviews.
There is an obvious link between best value and Overview and Scrutiny, but it is vital that Overview and Scrutiny is not seen simply in terms of the best value agenda. If this occurs then there is a danger that all Overview and Scrutiny work becomes bogged down in the minutiae of service delivery and performance management, which after all are managerial rather than member concerns. Whilst Overview and Scrutiny must recognise the relationship it has to securing best value, it must not be driven by best value concerns. If this occurs Overview and Scrutiny will lose sight of its policy focus and responsibilities and will result in members acting as elected officers rather than powerful politicians and community leaders.
6. CONCLUSION
We found a wide range of responses from our case study authorities to approaches designed to link Overview and Scrutiny to other vital elements of the modernising agenda. The pattern of responses that emerged indicated the need to ensure that Overview and Scrutiny was clearly integrated into all aspects of modernisation and that such linkage was recognised by members and officers. Indeed, we identified the need for much of the linkages to be made explicit, if not in the council’s constitution, then at least in a series of protocols or codes of practice, which each council can develop. Indeed, such formal recognition of the linkages between Overview and Scrutiny and other aspects of modernisation is most likely to come over time and through practice.
The strength and beauty of Overview and Scrutiny is that each council can cast it in their own image and give it the specific links with other aspects of modernisation that each council finds of value. Indeed, this is what we found in our case study councils. What has been highlighted here are the specific examples that were found of councils recognising the need to link Overview and Scrutiny to other modernisation activities. There is a far wider agenda in operation as councils develop their own response to modernisation; the question that needs to be asked is: how do we link Overview and Scrutiny to each step in the modernisation process?
Published 17 October 2002
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