Tag: relationships

Governance implications of Government intervention in local councils

Notes from our roundtable event on the governance implications of Government intervention in local councils.


Key learning points for effective member officer relations

Core elements for strengthening positive dynamics of member/officer relationships.


Failure to Prepare, Prepare To Fail

Exploration of how to prepare for a new a incoming administration.


Blog: Tales of the Unexpected – Preparing for the twists and turns of 2023 election results

How CfGS can help support transition in times of elections and change.


Time to think about member induction!

An outline of how CfGS can support member induction.


Improving Scrutiny: From the perspective of a new Democratic Services Officer by Charlotte Cameron, Democratic Services Officer, Peterborough City Council

Improving Scrutiny: From the perspective of a new Democratic Services Officer  When I started my role as a Democratic Services Officer, in the April of this year, I was starting my first role in a local authority. As a fresh, wide eyed new starter I had little idea of how important my role as a […]


Improving Scrutiny: working with our Members- by the Scrutiny Team at Essex County Council

As practitioners, we are always keen to develop and improve scrutiny here at Essex County Council, whilst also being mindful to ensure that we remain Member-led. We were, then, really pleased when our Scrutiny Board members asked us to complete a short, focussed review on the effectiveness of the function earlier this year. By way […]


BLOG: Look After Yourselves People, by Helen Mitchell – Interim Manager/Consultant in policy at Oxfordshire County Council

Look After Yourselves People I write this blog a few short weeks after World Mental Health Day – a day to advocate for, and signpost to, a greater understanding and appreciation for mental health and how we can all take active steps to improve it. I’ll share in this blog how colleagues within Scrutiny are […]


Statutorily the same? By Camilla de Bernhardt Lane

It feels like a different world in which the Department formally known as MHCLG published the statutory guidance for councils and combined authorities on the 7th May 2019.  For those of us who have inhabited the Scrutiny Sphere for some time there were few surprises. However, the realistic approach with a smattering of helpful suggestions […]


Governance risk and resilience

In March last year (2021) we published the “Governance risk and resilience” framework – a set of material designed to support people working in councils (and in other parts of the public sector too) to understand some of the behaviours and challenges that can lead to weakness in the corporate governance framework. Since then we […]