Ad Hoc or Special Issues Scrutiny Investigations
Currently standing Scrutiny Commissions cover specific areas, such as Finance, or Health. Sometimes, however, a review may need to be carried out in an area that does not have its own Scrutiny Commission. In such circumstances the Overview and Scrutiny Board may choose to set up a special group to look at this. These are called ad hoc Scrutiny Commissions.
Investigations
If the investigation is likely to be on a fairly small scale, the ad hoc commission will have three Councillors appointed to it, and would be likely meet three or four times. For larger scale investigations a number of Councillors will be appointed to consider the issue. Detailed terms of reference for the review will be provided for the Board to consider and agree.
Investigations are carried out in the same way as any other Scrutiny review: gathering evidence and looking for areas where improvements may be made. Councillors may also conduct their own research into an area and report back to a meeting. If a Councillor is interested in being involved in either an ad hoc or special issue investigation, they will be asked what expertise they can bring to the review.
Recommendations
Once such a review has been completed, the conclusions are reported back to the Overview and Scrutiny Board along with any recommendations. The Board will then decide whether these recommendations should be put forward to either Cabinet or Council.
Page updated: 26 Jan 2008