Ceredigion County Council

Overview and Scrutiny Committees oversee the work of the Council to make sure that it delivers services in the best way and for the benefit of the local community.

The role of Overview and Scrutiny is to look at the services and issues that affect people in Ceredigion. The process provides the opportunity for Councillors to examine the various functions of the council, to ask questions on how decisions have been made, to consider whether service improvements can be put in place and to make recommendations to this effect.

Scrutiny plays an essential role in promoting accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in the Council's decision making process and the way in which it delivers services.

The main roles of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees:

• Holding the cabinet and officers as decision-makers to account
• Being a 'critical friend', through questioning how decisions have been made to provide a 'check and balance' to decision makers, adding legitimacy to the decision making process
• Undertaking reviews of council services and policy
• Undertaking reviews to develop council services and policies
• Considering any other matter that affects the county
• Ensuring that Ceredigion is performing to the best of its ability and delivering high quality services to its citizens
• Assessing the impact of the Council's policies on local communities and recommending improvement
• Engaging with the public to develop citizen centred policies and services

Effective Overview and Scrutiny can lead to:

• Better decision making
• Improved Service Delivery and Performance
• Robust Policy Development arising from public consultation and input of independent expertise
• Enhanced Democracy, Inclusiveness, Community Leadership and Engagement
• Adds a clear dimension of transparency and accountability to the political workings of the Council
• Provides an opportunity for all Members to develop specialist skills and knowledge that can benefit future policy making and performance monitoring processes
• Creates a culture of evidence based self-challenge

The Centre for Public Scrutiny has identified the following four principles of Effective Scrutiny:

• Provides 'critical friend' challenge to executive policy-makers and decision-makers
• Enables the voice and concerns of the public and its communities
• Is carried out by 'independent minded governors' who lead and own the scrutiny process
• Drives improvement in public services