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Members Job profile from the Council Constitution


Scrutiny Committee Members:
 
  • Scrutiny Committee Members are the Chairman, Vice Chairman and members appointed annually by Full Council together with two co-opted voting members appointed under Section 115 of the Local Government Act 2003.

  • No Cabinet member, Cabinet Secretary or Commissioner may be Scrutiny Committee Members.

Role:
 
  • To determine a programme of work reflecting exclusively at a political and strategic level the policy priorities of the administration, corporate strategic priorities and the priorities of Scrutiny Committee members and the communities they serve.

  • To scrutinize, by being a critical friend, the services of the Council and to make recommendations to improve quality and efficiency in service delivery.

  • To maintain a call-in procedure as a safety net in the event of unexpectedly controversial decisions.

Duties:
 
  • To drive and participate in programmes of policy review and development, both as decided by the Scrutiny Committee and at the request of the Full Council and of the Cabinet. The programme of review may include consideration of anything which is of interest to the area or its inhabitants, even where the issue is not the responsibility of the Council.

  • To scrutinize both decisions of the Cabinet (including the individual Cabinet Members and Officers taking key decisions) and existing policies, procedures and processes of the Council, in accordance with the Committees’ work programme.

  • To play the leading role in developing and challenging the Council’s Budget processes.

  • To play a leading role in developing and challenging the Council’s Policy Framework.

  • To participate, when required, in the Call In procedure.

  • To apply, when undertaking these duties, the Constitution of the Council, and particularly the Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rules, the Access to Information Rules and the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.

  • To commission and receive expert witness.

  • To undertake additional functions as required by the Council or by statute.

  • To undertake Scrutiny functions in a constructive, positive and non-partisan way and exclusively at a political and strategic level.

  • To co-ordinate with Policy Commissioners and Policy Commission Members to ensure each Commission and the Scrutiny Committee agree complementary work programmes.

Entitlements:

  • The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee receive (in addition to the basic allowance) a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) as set out under the scheme of Members allowances.

  • The two Co-opted members will receive an allowance as set out under the Council’s scheme of members allowances.

  • Scrutiny Committee Members have additional rights to access information of relevance to their areas of responsibility. These rights are set out in the Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rules.

  • Mandatory and further specialised training in overview and scrutiny is provided for Members who are encouraged to ensure that they are well informed and able to develop the skills to undertake these responsibilities.



Page last updated on: 04/06/2007