How to find 300 years’ worth of Scrutiny Experience?
Last week I had the privilege of chairing the last meeting of the County and Unitary Officer Network – a group that has existed since the early 2000s where scrutiny officers from upper tier authorities meet to understand national policy, share scrutiny practice and our experience of working in this unique role. But I am pleased to say that this is not the end of the network – in fact we are embracing a natural progression that started a few months ago when some District Council Scrutiny Officers made contact to ask if they could join the virtual meetings. To recognise the wider membership, it was agreed at the meeting last week that we should change our name to the National Scrutiny Officers’ Network. We recognised that this is especially important when local authorities are responding to both Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation and there will be a need to extend our knowledge and skills beyond our current organisations.
At the CfGS conference, in her closing remarks, Mel Stevens talked about the importance of reaching out to colleagues – but when we are all so busy on a day-to-day basis it can be difficult to find the right people to connect with. The National Scrutiny Officers Network can now provide an opportunity for all officers who support local government scrutiny. While reflecting on the wealth of knowledge across our virtual network, I realised that with 60 people in the meeting – if on average each person had 5 years’ experience of working in local government scrutiny then we had a total of 300 years’ worth of scrutiny knowledge and experience between us! Please join the Network to add your experience and share your learning.
The national network in no way replaces any of the regional networks, in fact both Gennie and I are active in the West Midlands network, but the national network can cover the gaps where there is no regional network, or provide a safe space for officers to connect across regions, ask questions and raise issues at their authority, in an officer only space.
As a self-supporting network, it is also right at this time to thank those who have previously led this work- particularly John Cade who stepped down as Chair after more than 10 years. He had provided insight based on a career in scrutiny since it was established under the Local Government Act 2000 at Birmingham City Council. As a visiting lecturer at INLOGOV at the University of Birmingham he continues to be involved in this area of work – but handed over Chairing the network meetings in September 2024.
The National Scrutiny Officers Network will continue to hold quarterly meetings, and we are very pleased to have the ongoing support of CfGS colleagues who attend to provide updates on the work of the CfGS and national policy. The small team of who manage the network meetings are:
Co-Chairs:
- Gennie Holmes, Coventry City Council
- Fiona Bottrill, Birmingham City Council
- Membership and meeting arrangements:
- Charlotte Cameron, Peterborough City Council
- Mel White, Isle of Wight Council
To join the network please email: charlotte.cameron@peterborough.gov.uk
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