CfGS Conference 2025

The programme

This year, scrutiny and governance will be vital to local government meeting a challenging – and changing – future.

Many local authorities across England are facing mergers and hastening devolution journeys.

But the questions these changes provoke – over how governance and scrutiny can rise to new challenges while continuing to meet the highest standards – are pertinent for all.

We’ll have more news soon on our opening and closing plenaries.

For now, here’s the programme of sessions – panels and workshops – that focus on many of the big questions and challenges scrutiny and governance are facing:

The role of communities in governance and scrutiny

• Moving beyond consultation to doing together
• Who owns scrutiny?
• How we communicate a changing world of scrutiny and governance

Making governance and scrutiny work

• Assurance: How do you know what you don’t know?
• How finance context should inform scrutiny
• What courageous scrutiny culture looks like in reality
• On the way to devolution: Making scrutiny work in a time of change

Place governance

• Place governance and relational constitutions
• How does scrutiny use its powers to engage with partners
• Beyond referral – practical approaches to health scrutiny
• The Scrutiny Protocol and combined authorities