In 2018, CfGS carried out its first evaluations of local authority scrutiny functions using a new method, and under a new title. We brought together our wealth of research, policy and practical experience and developed the “scrutiny improvement review” (SIR) as a consistent and comprehensive way to evaluate scrutiny arrangements, to diagnose problems and to prescribe solutions.
In the time since we have carried out more than 30 of these exercises, which have produced clear and tangible results for those councils who have been through the process.
This short report takes the opportunity to reflect on the common features that our work has surfaced, as well as the impact that SIRs have had. It provides an analysis and evaluation of the emerging themes from all of the reviews we’ve carried out in the past three years.
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