The Good Scrutiny Digest

Joint scrutiny is about working together to look at shared issues, especially where services cut across boundaries. It’s essentially about making collaboration practical with clear roles, shared goals, and good relationships. Read more on how scrutiny adds value rather than becoming confused or duplicated.

This guide explains how scrutiny works in councils where no party is in control, focusing on working across political lines to challenge and improve decisions. The core idea is simple: when power is shared, scrutiny matters more and works best when it’s practical, constructive, and not overly political.

This short guide explains how an Executive–Scrutiny Protocol helps decision-makers and those holding them to account work together more effectively, making council processes clearer, fairer, and more transparent.

Scrutiny of partners and external organisations is about working with other agencies to improve services for local people. It builds strong relationships, gathers evidence, and makes clear recommendations for partners to act on. Working with external organisations brings in wider expertise, strengthens accountability, and helps decisions better reflect community needs.

This guide sets out how call-in should be used as a practical governance tool to improve decision-making, strengthen accountability, and support constructive challenge. Read on for practical advice on when and how call-in should be used as part of informed decision-making.

This guide explains how effective scrutiny of council financial planning should focus on a council's medium term financial planning

This guide brings together shared insights collected at a learning event; from councils, practitioners, and partners on what effective SEND scrutiny looks like in practice. It is designed to support scrutiny members, officers and key partners including health and education, to approach this work with confidence, clarity, and a strong focus on impact.

Questioning is central to scrutiny as it helps us challenge assumptions, understand complex systems, hold decision-makers to account, and uncover the stories behind the data. Read how to frame and questions effectively in this practice guide.

Explore how scrutiny functions can navigate and retain their role effectively during Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), including key principles and considerations for maintaining oversight through the transition.

This guide explores how to understand, gather, and use evidence to have the greatest impact in scrutiny work.

This practice guide explores proven approaches that councils have used to assess and articulate their impact, demonstrating how scrutiny can shape better governance and service delivery.

This guide outlines the practical steps for conducting a scrutiny review, a detailed investigation aimed at making evidence-based recommendations for change. It covers the end-to-end process of conducting a scrutiny review, from initial planning to post-review follow-up.

An outline of the powers and structures that underpin overview and scrutiny in England, covering key areas such as committee resourcing, membership, chairing, and statutory powers.

An easy to follow guide for setting your work programme, with downloadable infographics.

This practice guide offers practical advice for developing positive working relationships within scrutiny committees, with executives, partners, and the public.

A technical paper giving advice on the operation and review of critical elements of governance framework for local authorities in England.

A technical paper giving advice on the operation and review of critical elements of governance framework for local authorities in England.

A technical paper giving advice on the operation and review of critical elements of governance framework for local authorities in England.