Author: Ed Hammond
What will scrutiny look like?
UPDATE: since this post was published, Regulations on remote meetings have been published, and we have published a more detailed guide on scrutiny during the COVID-19 which you can find here. With arrangements for remote meetings expected to be in place within days what are the kinds of approaches to scrutiny that will make sense […]
Social care, COVID-19 and scrutiny
One of the aspects of the Coronavirus Act which has caused most concern has been the loosening of local authorities’ legal obligations in the Care Act. Powers exist for local authorities to derogate from these obligations temporarily at the peak of the crisis – when that arrives. Government has said, “it is crucial that local […]
This immediate crisis
(A shorter version of this piece appeared in the Local Government Chronicle on 18/03/20) In a time of crisis, accountability, transparency and good governance are even more important. There will be a temptation for councils, in the initial stages and as this crisis deepens, to cut back on “traditional” approaches to governance. Some of this […]
Council governance and the coronavirus
UPDATE: This post, first published on 13/03/20, was updated on 17/03/20 to reflect changed Government policy and advice. Plenty of people across local government will be thinking seriously at the moment about business continuity as the impact of the coronavirus outbreak becomes more severe. It is likely that we are talking disruption for a […]
Blog: Political culture: managing party politics
This is the third in a series of blogs about political culture in local governance and scrutiny. You can find the first and second ones here. You can’t talk about politics without talking about political parties. Recent local elections have made us even more aware of this. More councils are under no overall control, or […]
Blog: Political culture: understanding the mutual motivations of scrutineers and the executive
In my last blog I talked in general terms about the attitude and approach of the executive, and what makes for good political leadership. In this blog, the second in a series of five on political culture, I will go into more detail on the mutual motivations of scrutineers and the executive. What makes people […]
Blog: Political culture: the central role of the executive
This is the first in a series of five blogs on political culture and scrutiny. Over the course of the next couple of months we will explore what political culture is, what its practical implications are and how members and officers at a local level can work together to identify deficiencies in how people act […]
The pre-election period (“purdah”) and scrutiny
In the past few days we have received a number of queries from councils asking about how they manage the “pre-election period” in the context of their ongoing scrutiny meetings. This period (commonly called “purdah”, although we don’t use that word because of its connotations) is also sometimes described as the “period of heightened sensitivity”. During […]
Leading sector bodies working together to provide practical advice to councils to assist in the strengthening of local governance
A range of national bodies are working together to enhance councils’ understanding of how they can diagnose and reduce the risk of failure in corporate governance, and what success factors can point the way to greater strength in this area. Research is being led by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny and Localis, and funded […]
Supporting councillors dealing with harassment and intimidation
Scrutiny and democratic services officers are in a unique position in the council – they deal, day to day, with councillors in a way that most officers don’t. Within the council, we are used to deferring to, and working closely alongside, members. For those of us who have worked our entire careers in democratic services […]