Topic: Local democracy
The material in this section contains information, guidance and commentary about democracy, participation and engagement of the public in local democratic systems. Many authorities are seeking to deepen their approach to new ways of involving local people in decision-making – in part by exploring how these methods can “dock in” to more traditional governance structures.
The reorganisation and devolution agenda also creates an opportunity for local democracy to be strengthened through the creation and development of “hyperlocal” governance systems – both through a bolstering of the power of parish and community councils and by the creation of new locality or area-based systems for new, larger authorities.
Electoral reviews: offering support
Before the pandemic, we and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) embarked on a project looking at the way that councils (and councillors) engage with electoral reviews. This project is now concluding – it will result in the publication of our research, and amendments by the LGBCE to their guidance to councils on […]
How to write effective survey and research questions
The use of surveys to gather and triangulate evidence for scrutiny reviews is easier, now that we can be more confident that a majority of local people have access to the tools to fill them in online – making the use of hard-copy questionnaires unnecessary other than in situations where scrutiny is keen to gather […]
Into the horizon: scrutiny looking into the future
Horizon scanning is often said to be a key part of the contribution that Scrutiny can make. But how far into the future is far enough? Scrutiny has come a long way since its inception in 2000 where a key feature was safeguarding through transparency. The need for transparency has not diminished, but the focus […]
What kind of democracy do we really want?
At the time of writing we are in the midst of the political furore over allegations of parties held in Downing Street during lockdown. Far from being trivial, this is a matter which speaks to what democracy is, and what we expect of those who represent us. We still, hopefully, expect those who represent us […]
Constructive scrutiny: What does it look like in practice?
In this guest blog, Dr Dave McKenna, a CfGS associate and local government practitioner, draws together his insights on how to get the balance right in providing effective challenge. I’ve observed a few scrutiny committees in my time, for fun, obviously, but also for the occasional governance review. For these formal observations I’m looking for […]
Performative aspects of scrutiny
In this guest blog Cllr Bryony Rudkin, deputy leader at Ipswich Borough Council, reflects on the importance of behaviours in how local councillors enact democracy and scrutiny. “Read the standing orders, read them and understand them!” At bit like the moon landings, Berlin Wall or England beating Colombia in that penalty shoot out, take your […]
Local and national scrutiny: challenges in common
In this guest blog Mark Sandford, senior research analyst at the House of Commons Library, takes a comparative look at scrutiny on a national and local level. The Municipal Journal published an article on 1 July 2021, from a former head of communications of the London Assembly, calling for its abolition. This was advocated on […]
Remote meetings partnership: compendium of information on remote meetings
In England, a partnership of national organisations came together in March 2020 to support councils to put remote meetings arrangements in place. In recent months, the partnership has been co-ordinating discussion on the planned end of remote meeting powers on 6 May 2021, and exploring alternative options and actions to mitigate. This document is intended […]
“Docking-in”: making traditional governance fit for purpose in a hyper-localist world
More councils are starting to experiment with different forms of decision-making. The emergence of mutual aid networks at the outset of the pandemics – agile, highly local, groups of neighbours getting together at street level to offer immediate help to the vulnerable – contrasts unfavourably with the lumbering setup of the national, NHS-led volunteering scheme. […]
London Borough of Newham
Democracy review, with focus on engagement with local people as part of a wider Independent democracy commission.