News & events

For a long time, scrutiny professionals and councillors alike were clear that scrutiny was not a place for individual complaints for local people to be aired....

What is culture? How does political and organisational culture influence governance – and vice versa? And what does this mean for local government? By “culture”, we mean...

On 20th June CfGS will be holding a symposium to discuss the Government’s new statutory guidance on overview and scrutiny. The first general Government guidance...

The statutory guidance on overview and scrutiny in local government has now been published by MHCLG.This guidance has been produced following a commitment that...

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve...

With the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, an expected Social Care Green Paper and the drive towards integrated services through Sustainability and...

One week in February held the publication of two different think tank reports, with two very different visions of the future for the sector...

The National Housing Federation is launching ‘Together with Tenants’, a new national initiative to create a stronger relationship between tenants and housing associations. The creation...

After the local elections in May, supporting your new and returning councillors will be a high priority. Elections can mean change - a new...

The short answer to this question is, of course, “nobody knows”. As I write this a further “meaningful vote” on the Withdrawal Agreement is...

On 15 January the NAO published their report on local governance – the systems in place and the ability of local governance to be...

Happy New Year! Well, 2018 came and went and you will have noticed that the scrutiny guidance is still conspicuous by its absence. Government undertook...

Social value is a concept that has gained significant awareness in recent years. Legislation in the UK has increased its prominence, and research shows...

The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny hosted a well attended and engaging national conference focusing on the current challenges facing scrutiny and sharing examples...

Is there a role for scrutiny when a council faces big and scary challenges? Does scrutiny step forward or slip back when the task...

Resources for finance scrutiny We think that scrutiny of council finances (and of budget development) should be year-round – a continued, sustained conversation between scrutiny...

An update on the scrutiny guidance I wanted to share an update with you on our, and MHCLG’s, progress on the drafting of the scrutiny...

One of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s recommendations on overview and scrutiny last year was that we should pilot arrangements for the...