Author: Kate Grigg
Annual Review of Adult Social Care complaints 2020/21
The recently published ‘Annual Review of Adult Social Care complaints 2020/21’ by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman pulls together the national picture of complaints about adult social care providers, arranged and funded privately, or by local authorities. The review outlines critical themes from across the country, and some of the issues raised are […]
Devolution and combined authorities: common themes so far
This week we published two practical guides for those involved, or with an interest in, local governance, combined authorities (CAs) and devolution. Our COVID-19 ‘lessons learnt’ style debrief highlights the governance changes that took place within CAs as they responded to the crisis and considers the governance risks as we enter the recovery phase. Our […]
Anticipating, managing and adapting to ‘No overall control’
Reflections and considerations for those operating in authorities that have experienced no overall control, authorities that are politically contestable, and single party councils
Good governance and corporate responsibility through scrutiny
Over the past year, organisations across all sectors have experienced new complexities in shifting to a different operating environment and unparalleled challenges that have inevitably tested organisational culture and governance. In this current context, many organisations in the private and not-for-profit sectors are reflecting on how to implement resilient governance practices that help achieve their […]
2020/21 Annual survey: initial findings
To say that 2020/21 has been a significant year for local government is an understatement. The changes in ways of working brought about by the pandemic can be seen across all areas of the council, and this is also true for overview and scrutiny. This blog shares some initial findings from our latest annual survey, […]
Annual scrutiny survey 2020/21
Our annual scrutiny survey has opened today, and we have a message from our Chief Executive 2020 marked the 20th anniversary since legislation was passed for the overview and scrutiny function in English and Welsh councils. Of course last year was also defined by the covid-19 pandemic, and its impacts on communities and local […]
The challenges of scrutiny at a distance
In this guest blog, Rebecca Atherton from Leeds City Council considers the experience of remote scrutiny and its practical challenges. “Can you hear me – I can hear you? Are you muted? The webcast is now live.” If 2020 had a catch phrase any of the above would seem fitting. As we begin Lockdown 3.0 […]
Conducting remote scrutiny reviews
In our first guest blog of the year, Catherine Buckley from Knowsley Council explains how one scrutiny committee organised and undertook its first entirely remote task and finish review. Knowsley Council’s Children Scrutiny Committee kick-started their scrutiny year with a virtual workplanning session in June 2020 and voted for ‘Early Help and Parental Support’ as […]
Watch our recorded webinar: Finance Scrutiny
We have recently recorded our ‘Finance Scrutiny’ webinar for you to watch below. We will also be uploading further webinars for member and officers in the coming weeks. Take a look at our YouTube channel here for the content we have recorded so far. If you have any questions about the content, or if you […]
Council Logos, Part Two
In part one I kicked off with a brief introduction to the world of council logos, this part sets out what I’ve learnt. Council logos – the insights. My methodical process initially entailed scrutinising the contents of each logo, in order to identify the presence of various design components in hope of producing a typology. […]