Scrutiny

What is a Scrutiny Committee?

Scrutiny Committees are part of the Council’s political management arrangements. The committees are intended to ensure the accountability and transparency of the Council’s decision making process. They examine council policies and delivery of services; both by the council and external organisations, falling within their respective remits.

Principal roles

• Helping to develop Council policy
• Investigating and testing options and asking questions before and after decisions are taken
• Looking in detail at areas of concern and reviewing policies
• Reviewing performance of the Council to improve service delivery
• "Calling-in" decisions - this is a statutory power which gives Scrutiny Committees the right to formally stop a decision being implemented and to investigate it further

Herefordshire Council’s Scrutiny Committees

The Council has six Scrutiny Committees. One of these, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, also co-ordinates the work of these Committees:

• Adult Social Care and Strategic Housing Scrutiny Committee
• Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee 
• Community Services Scrutiny Committee
• Environment Scrutiny Committee
• Health Scrutiny Committee
• Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Membership of the Scrutiny Committees

Membership consists mainly of councillors although committees have the power to co-opt non-councillors.

With the exception of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, places on the Scrutiny Committees are allocated to councillors in proportion to the Council’s political composition.

Details of committee membership are available by using the links above to each committee.

Meetings

Meetings of the Scrutiny Committees are held in public and open to anyone to attend. There is no automatic right to speak although the chairman can invite public participation. 

Meeting dates for each Scrutiny Committee can be found by using the links above for each committee. 

To find meeting dates for other Council committees see the Decision Making area of the website.

Agenda Papers and Reports

Agenda papers and reports for the meetings are available one week in advance of the meeting at council offices and via the links above to each committee.

You can suggest items for the committees to consider by emailing us at scrutiny@herefordshire.gov.uk. Please provide your name, address, telephone number and the details of the proposed item for scrutiny.

If you require any further information about the Scrutiny Committees or any of the current reviews, please get in touch with us using the contact details listed above.