Scrutiny is a key part of the council's governance arrangements and provides accountability and assurance, as well as a vehicle for elected councillors to contribute to policy development and review. Scrutiny committees have the overall aim of driving improvement to services to the local community.
Scrutiny is led by elected councillors, who are not members of the council's executive (Cabinet). Scrutiny committees, unlike Cabinet or Full Council, cannot make executive decisions. They may, however, make recommendations to Cabinet, Full Council or to other organisations in Herefordshire.
As well as scrutinising the council's own services, scrutiny committees have the power to look into the provision of local health services, as well as other issues which affect the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of the county.
They can do this in a number of ways:
- Holding the executive to account for its decisions, scrutinising decisions before they are made (pre-decision scrutiny), and after they are implemented (performance review)
- Reviewing council policies, their implementation and impact on local people and
- Working with the executive to develop existing and proposed policies.
Our scrutiny committees
There are five scrutiny committees at Herefordshire Council, these are:
- Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee
- Connected Communities Scrutiny Committee
- Environment and Sustainability Scrutiny Committee
- Health, Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee
- Scrutiny Management Board
Scrutiny committees are made up of elected members of the council, as well as some co-opted members. The membership is cross party and politically proportionate.
Scrutiny committees review and scrutinise council and community services, question local decision makers, statutory partners, community organisations and expert witnesses and publish a record of their proceedings and their findings. They may also make reports or recommendations to the council (Full Council or the Cabinet) and relevant partner organisations.
Each committee has its own work plan to prioritise the issues they wish to scrutinise during the year. See the latest work programme for scrutiny.
Scrutiny committees are held in public and have formal agenda and minutes, which are published five clear days ahead of a meeting.
Task and finish groups
A scrutiny committee may appoint a task and finish group for any scrutiny activity within the committee's agreed work plan. A committee may also decide to undertake a task and finish activity itself as a spotlight review which may happen in a single session.
At present scrutiny has five task and finish groups underway:
- Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee is reviewing how Herefordshire Council provides early help to children, young people and their families. It plans to report back to the committee in the summer of 2026.
- Connected Communities Scrutiny Committee is looking at good practice in public involvement in housing development and planning. It will report back to the committee in late 2026.
- Environment and Sustainability Scrutiny Committee has agreed to scrutinise how Herefordshire Council supports passenger and community transport services. It will publish its final report October 2026.
- Health, Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee is currently undertaking a review of work to meet the demand for adult social care services in Herefordshire. It will conclude its work in the autumn of 2026.
- Scrutiny Management Board is investigating steps the council might take to reduce inequality in the county. It will carry out this work during the first half of 2026.
We will provide links here to the committees' final reports once they are published.
Questions in committee
You may ask a question of any scrutiny committee chair or the statutory scrutiny officer. For details about the types of questions you can ask, follow this guide to asking public questions at council meetings.
To ask a question:
- Send it by email to councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk or
- Write to the Monitoring Officer, Herefordshire Council, County Offices, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0LE.
Make sure you include your full name and address when you submit a question. We use this to verify that you live or work in Herefordshire.
We must receive questions at least three clear working days before the day of the meeting (not including the day of the meeting) as set out in the table below.
| Meeting day | Question deadline is 5pm on previous: |
|---|---|
| Monday | Tuesday |
| Tuesday | Wednesday |
| Wednesday | Thursday |
| Thursday | Friday |
| Friday | Monday |
Co-optees
Scrutiny committees may co-opt people onto a committee. We recognise the valuable input and different perspectives co-opted members bring into the council's decision-making process. Co-opted members could be representatives of an organisation, an interest group or they may be co-opted for their specific expertise or experience.
A scrutiny committee may co-opt a maximum of two non-voting people as and when required, for example for a particular meeting, for a fixed period of time, or to join a task and finish group. Any such co-optees will be agreed by the committee, referencing the agreed work plan and/or task and finish group membership. A co-optee's role is to complement, rather than replace, the role of elected councillors.
If you would like to consider volunteering as a co-optee, please email scrutiny@herefordshire.gov.uk for more information about the types of co-optee we require and our recruitment process.
Expert witnesses are invited to provide information to scrutiny committees. These may be service users, academics, businesses, service providers, other local authorities, or anyone who can help inform a scrutiny review.
The role of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer and the Monitoring Officer
The Statutory Scrutiny Officer and the Monitoring Officer are the responsible officers for overseeing the scrutiny process and ensuring that it operates correctly and effectively.
How can I get involved?
You can read more about how to get involved at Suggest a topic for scrutiny
Members of the public may submit written evidence for any matter being considered by scrutiny committees or a scrutiny task group. If the written evidence is considered relevant and appropriate it may be included for consideration by the committee. Appropriate material should be relevant to the subject being considered, provide substantive material evidence and non-political in nature.
Members of the public have a right to attend committee meetings. You can also watch the proceedings on live webcast on our YouTube Channel.
You have the right to ask public questions at meetings and these will be answered by councillors or the appropriate officer in attendance.
You can also make suggestions for the committee's work plans by suggesting a topic to be considered by a committee.
Anyone can suggest a topic for scrutiny to review by contacting the scrutiny officers. Suitable topics will be strategic policy and services, not individual complaints or enquiries.
For more information or to suggest a topic for scrutiny please email scrutiny@herefordshire.gov.uk