Category: Blog
Update on our CLG inquiry submission
As the deadline looms we explain our latest thinking. Over the past few weeks we have been encouraging people to submit evidence to Communities and Local Government Committee inquiry into local government overview and scrutiny. The committee clerk has told us they are particularly interested in receiving evidence from individuals, keen to hear the frank […]
Scrutiny and safeguarding in Brent – guest blog
Cllr Ketan Sheth discusses how they have scrutinised ‘Signs for Safety’ “The single most important factor in minimizing errors is to admit you may be wrong” – it’s not an easy maxim for anybody to follow, especially members of a scrutiny committee. It’s actually by Professor Eileen Munro who was writing about the complexities and […]
Improving health outcomes for people with learning disabilities in Scotland – CfGS/SCLD report
New report by CfGS for the Scottish Commission for Learning Disabilities (SCLD) SCLD and CfGS have today published Using scrutiny to drive outcomes: Improving quality of life for people with learning disabilities in Scotland. The report sets out the vital role effective scrutiny plays in ensuring that health and social care services are meeting the needs […]
Proposals for Congenital Heart Disease Services
In July 2016, NHS England published a set of proposals regarding the future commissioning of congenital heart disease (CHD) services for children and adults. They describe the actions which NHS England proposes to take in order to ensure a consistent standard of care for CHD patients across the country, for now and for the future. […]
STPs – how sustainable or transformative are they?
Tim Gilling, discusses how scrutiny should approach Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs). Last year the BBC called STPs ‘secret plans to cut services’. At the time, the Guardian was slightly more charitable describing them as ‘either radical local modernization plans or the end of the NHS as we know it’ – on reflection, maybe they […]
Take part in an LGA peer review!
The LGA is currently inviting volunteers to take part in peer reviews. Part of the package from which LGA member councils benefit is the offer to have a “corporate peer challenge” carried out to review the health and direction of the authority and its work. This is not an inspection, but a process by which […]
Scrutinising scrutiny
Jaqui McKinlay on why now is the time to shout about scrutiny successes The Communities and Local Government Committee (CLG) inquiry into local government overview and scrutiny (O&S) is certainly overdue. A model which was first introduced nearly two decades ago has so far avoided much scrutiny itself, with most broadly accepting that it was […]
Studying scrutiny: what’s its impact?
The CfGS is continuing to look into various issues relating to scrutiny. We have recently done a survey of scrutiny perceptions, and are currently working on estimating the impact of scrutiny across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Whether you have filled the previous survey or not, we would to like to invite all scrutiny practitioners to share their […]
The focus of our submission to the CLG committee inquiry into overview and scrutiny
Initial thinking on the inquiry and how you can get involved We’re delighted that the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Select Committee has decided to conduct an inquiry into overview and scrutiny (O&S). A national inquiry of this kind can be perceived negatively, it’s not! It represents a unique opportunity to bring to a wider audience some […]
What 2017 holds for local government…. and scrutiny
We hope that 2017 proves less interesting than 2016. Particularly in the weeks following the referendum, I seemed to get very little work done, as about eight years’ worth of news seemed to have been compressed into only a few days. Not only was there a huge amount happening on the international and national stages; […]