Topic: Roles & Relationships
The section contains material which covers the roles and relationships that need to exist in order to underpin effective governance. It includes commentary on the operation of local behavioural codes of conduct and the standards regime.
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 […]
Our annual survey
We have now published our annual survey of overview and scrutiny in local government – the definitive picture of scrutiny’s effectiveness in the first year post-pandemic. You can read a summary of the key findings here – https://www.cfgs.org.uk/resource/what-makes-for-effective-scrutiny-excerpt-from-the-cfgs-annual-survey-2021 . The full report can be read here – https://www.cfgs.org.uk/resource/cfgs-annual-survey-2021-22. The findings are perhaps unsurprising – reflecting […]
Standing, and standing down
In 2019 and 2021 we experienced some comparatively high “councillor turnover” – and we can probably expect similar in local elections this May. The neutral phrase “councillor turnover” hides a large number of personal stories and experiences of those councillors who will, for whatever reason, not be councillors after the forthcoming election. Councillors stop being […]
Behavioural issues in meetings: what can we learn?
Today (28 February) we published guidance for councils in England on new approaches to hybrid meetings. This guidance focuses on matters relating to behaviours and attitudes, reflecting on lessons learned during the pandemic and seeking to apply those lessons to a world where hybrid formats may, in due course, form one of the ways in […]
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 […]