Engaging with Local Authority scrutiny boards to drive improved policy and services

Angela Brogden, Rebecca Atherton, and Rob Clayton explain how scrutiny works at Leeds City Council and how researchers can contribute.

This blog was first published by Policy Leeds on medium.com

Parliamentary Select Committees are well known for scrutinising national Government actions and holding them to account, but what is less well known is that Local Authorities have a scrutiny function too.

Local Authority Scrutiny Boards work to review and influence decision making and so improve public services, policies and performance for the benefit of local people.

Parliamentary Select Committees are well known for scrutinising national Government actions and holding them to account, but what is less well known is that Local Authorities have a scrutiny function too.

Local Authority Scrutiny Boards work to review and influence decision making and so improve public services, policies and performance for the benefit of local people.

How does scrutiny work at Local Authority level?

National legislation requires local authorities like Leeds City Council (that operate a Leader Cabinet model of governance) to have a scrutiny function. Scrutiny boards are designed as a counterweight to the main decision-making structures within the Council and are part of democratic ‘checks and balances’ for the organisation.

In Leeds we have a clear ‘Vision for Scrutiny’ (pdf) based on the following four national principles of good scrutiny:

  • Provide critical friend challenge,
  • Amplify the voices and concerns of the public,
  • Be led by independent people who take responsibility for their role,
  • Drive improvement in public services.

Councillors who sit on a scrutiny board are expected to leave party politics at the door and to provide effective, robust challenge to those taking decisions. This involves working with a wide range of stakeholders to influence the development of policy and to hold decision makers to account.

Transparency is a key part of ensuring accountability through scrutiny. As many scrutiny meetings as possible are therefore held in public — albeit there are occasions when additional training or briefings take place outside of public meetings. Anyone can come along to observe a public scrutiny meeting and they are also webcast. Recordings of Leeds City Council’s scrutiny meetings can be found here: Scrutiny Boards — YouTube

What are the arrangements in Leeds?

There are five Scrutiny Boards in Leeds, covering all areas of Executive decision making. The Boards are:

Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles

Children & Families

Environment, Housing & Communities

Infrastructure, Investment & Inclusive Growth

Strategy & Resources

Some of these boards have specific additional responsibilities. For example, local authorities currently have the power to review and scrutinise matters relating to the planning, provision and operation of the health service in their area. In Leeds this responsibility falls to the Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles Scrutiny Board. As a result, its members can require members or officers of health bodies to provide information or attend meetings to answer questions.

There are also specific requirements for local authorities to have a designated crime and disorder board — in Leeds this falls within the remit of the Environment, Housing and Communities Scrutiny Board. The Infrastructure, Investment and Inclusive Growth Board has additional responsibilities regarding Flood Risk Management.

Who can be part of a Scrutiny Board?

Scrutiny is designed to add value to the decision-making process through constructive challenge. For that reason, members of the Council’s main decision-making Board — the Executive Board — are not allowed to sit on a Scrutiny Board. Instead, up to 62 scrutiny positions are filled by non-executive councillors.

The membership of scrutiny boards in Leeds broadly reflects the political balance of the local authority.

In addition to councillors, Scrutiny Boards can appoint additional ‘co-opted members’ who provide external insight or bring expertise to the work of their board. For example, a representative of Young Lives Leeds brings the voice of the third sector to the Children and Families Board and Health Watch Leeds represents the views of patients on the Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles Board.

While most boards make a choice about their co-optees some boards are required by legislation to appoint additional members — the Children and Families Scrutiny Board must co-opt representatives from the Church of England and Catholic dioceses, along with primary and secondary parent governors.

What do Scrutiny Boards do?

The work of Scrutiny is varied. Scrutiny Boards may hold inquiries into subjects of interest to board members, conduct research, produce reports, challenge decisions and make recommendations.

The committees often seek to gather evidence about issues affecting local people in their area to make recommendations based on their findings. That evidence may come from council officers, stakeholders impacted by a policy decision or partners working towards a common city ambition.

There is a strong organisational culture in Leeds City Council that supports the work of scrutiny. Constructive relationships have been developed with those whose decisions are scrutinised, along with a network of partners.

Photo by the University of Leeds

Scrutiny Boards cannot overturn decisions or demand change. However, they do have significant convening power. Theirs is a ‘soft power’ that seeks to bring different people together to share ideas and produce evidence-based recommendations to influence decision makers.

The exception to this is a specific power to ‘call in’ key decisions made by the Executive. In these instances, a Scrutiny Board will review an individual decision and the way it has been made to determine whether it should be reconsidered by a decision maker or released for implementation.

Regional Health Scrutiny

National legislation also requires local authorities to appoint a mandatory Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC). This allows a relevant NHS body or health service provider to consult more than one local authority’s health scrutiny function about substantial reconfiguration proposals.

Alongside these mandatory arrangements, local authorities were given the flexibility to establish discretionary joint health overview and scrutiny committees as an informal way of considering how the needs of a local population, which happens to cross council boundaries, are being met.

In 2015, a discretionary West Yorkshire JHOSC was established. Local authorities in the West Yorkshire area include Leeds City Council, Wakefield Council, Calderdale Council, Kirklees Council and Bradford Council (which includes part of Craven District Council). The West Yorkshire JHOSC consists of two members from each of the West Yorkshire local authorities, as well as two members from North Yorkshire County Council.

The Leeds representatives on the West Yorkshire JHOSC have historically included the Chair and another member of the Scrutiny Board (Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles). The Chair of the West Yorkshire JHOSC is appointed from its membership as part of its first meeting of the municipal year.

The West Yorkshire JHOSC continues to work effectively as a first ‘port of call’ for the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to brief scrutiny representatives on health matters that affect the whole of the West Yorkshire area. Where required, these informal working arrangements can be stepped up into formal arrangements in accordance with the Regulations.

While relevant scrutiny officers across the region will work collaboratively to support the work of the West Yorkshire JHOSC, the main support resource is currently with Kirklees Council Browse meetings — West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee | Kirklees Council.

How research expertise can inform scrutiny

The Scrutiny Boards are interested to hear from researchers who can share evidence or expertise that can provide new insights to challenge traditional thinking or current practice in the areas identified in the Scrutiny Board work programmes.

For instance, Dr Anna Barker gave evidence to the Environment, Housing and Communities Scrutiny Board on 12 October 2023. The meeting reviewed a report from the LCC Chief Officer for Climate, Energy and Green Spaces, setting out proposals to develop community park plans, including auditing parks’ accessibility and work to improve park design to ensure that women and girls feel safe and welcome using the Safer Parks Guidance developed by Dr Barker. The Scrutiny Board was able to question Dr Barker directly about the work, leading to their Plans for Community Parks report (pdf) recommending that the guidance also be shared with Parish and Town Councils to inform the development of their greenspaces. The Executive Board then acted on this recommendation (pdf), sharing the guidance on 26 October.

Getting involved

Scrutiny work programmes are published as part of the meeting agendas, links to which can be found on the Policy Leeds Working with Leeds City Council webpage. If you feel you have some evidence that may be of interest to the Scrutiny Boards or wish to find out more about their work, please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the team.

Scrutiny Contacts — Leeds City Council

Angela Brogden — Principal Scrutiny Advisor

• Adults, Health & Active Lifestyles

Angela.Brogden@leeds.gov.uk

Rebecca Atherton — Principal Scrutiny Advisor

• Environment, Housing & Communities

• Infrastructure, Investment & Inclusive Growth

Becky.Atherton@leeds.gov.uk

Rob Clayton — Principal Scrutiny Advisor

  • Children & Families
  • Strategy & Resources

Robert.Clayton@leeds.gov.uk