Category: Blog
From mandatory to meaningful – insights on neighbourhood governance
In October our learning event sought to understand what a new neighbourhood governance duty will mean for councils – Mel Stevens reflects on what we heard
Celebrating the launch of Elevate
This week marks the official launch of Elevate, a groundbreaking new pilot programme designed to build scrutiny leadership skills, knowledge and confidence among officers from across the country
21st Century Councillors event
We’re excited to share news of a free 21st Century Councillor event taking place in Andover on 4 November – giving councillors and officers the chance to discuss how elected members can adapt, lead and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape for local democracy
Neighbourhood Governance
In her latest blog, Mel Stevens unpacks how a new duty in the Devolution Bill could shake up local democracy and put real power in the hands of communities.
Our first thoughts on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Some first thoughts on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Launch of National Scrutiny Officers’ Network
In this guest post, Fiona Bottrill, Senior Overview and Scrutiny Manager at Birmingham City Council, and her colleagues at the County and Unitary Officers’ Network are now welcoming a wider group of officers, and rebranding as the National Scrutiny Officers’ Network
There are different ways to do mayoral scrutiny – why our thinking on LPACs is changing
Since 2014 we have been developing and refining the idea of “local Public Accounts Committees” (LPACs) – new bodies, well-placed to review and oversee the value for money of public services across a “place”, following the public pound rather than being focused on the accountability arrangements of individual institutions. Since then, the idea has been […]
Why we should be talking about democracy
Catherine Howe, CfGS chair and the Chief Executive of Adur and Worthing Councils, says that creating a new form of regional government requires a similar focus on how our local democracy works
It’s all about impact: Moving from more to meaningful
Camilla and Ian share their thoughts on why scrutiny’s value can’t be measured in the weight of reports or the footprint of its meetings alone
Post-election learning and support
We have a range of learning and development opportunities – free and paid – for that may be useful if you have recently seen changes in your council following elections