Category: Blog
Resilience in local government – what do we mean? Blog by Katie Grigg, CfGS Research Officer
Resilience in Local Government As the new decade unfolds and we reflect on the past 10 years in local government, it is timely to review the current position of local government and its ability to respond to austerity, uncertainty and how well it is prepared for future threats and opportunities. Whilst there have been some […]
Blog: Culture, maternity failures and the Ockenden review: case study by Ed Hammond
Culture, maternity failures and the Ockenden review: a case study Those with an interest in health scrutiny will have been keeping a watchful eye on the developing independent review of maternity services provided at Shropshire and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust. Donna Ockenden was commissioned to undertake this review two years ago following a number of […]
Blog: How is digital democracy shaping the role of local government scrutiny? by Dr Catherine Howe, Vice-Chair of CfGS
Where does scrutiny sit in today’s democratic world? How is digital democracy shaping the role of local government scrutiny? The conversation about digital in local government has moved leaps and bounds compared to the comparable conversation about democracy and its time to put some serious thought to how we catch up. In leading councils digital […]
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 […]
2019 annual survey of overview and scrutiny in local government now open
2020 will mark the 20th anniversary of the legislative changes that led to the establishment of the overview and scrutiny function in English and Welsh councils. In the runup to this momentous event we want to have – and we want you to have – the fullest possible picture of scrutiny across the country. Notable […]
Engaging with the climate emergency
We’re hoping to do some work in the coming months on how scrutiny can engage with the climate emergency – engaging with the global challenge to understand the practical local action that can be undertaken to both mitigate and adapt to the crisis. The next meeting of our Advisory Board is devoted to the subject, […]
Health scrutiny and “integrated care systems”
If you are at an county or unitary council then structural change in the English NHS won’t have been far from your mind for much of the last decade. It seems as if there is a near constant round of local variations to health services, accompanied by nationally-led alterations – leading from the establishment of […]
Guest Blog from David Evans, Founder, The Campaign Company: The Trust Challenge
On EU Referendum Day three years ago, a conspiracy theory went viral. It was based on the idea that election officials would rub out votes if they were in pencil. Popularised by the #UseAPen hashtag, ‘Pencil-Gate’ occupied the afternoon of 23 June 2016 – with publicly-minded voters even turning up at polling stations with spare […]