Scrutiny in Aylesbury Vale

Our Scrutiny Committees have a responsibility to hold the Cabinet to account for the decisions it takes, better known as call-in. Scrutiny Committees also perform in-depth reviews of our policies and services and take on a vital role in policy and budget development. Scrutiny Committees also look at hot topics as and when they arise and have a prominent role in performance monitoring.

Call-in

Each Scrutiny Committee has the right to review a Cabinet or Cabinet Member decision before it is implemented and to make its views known. This right is known as Call-in. The original decision is then reconsidered by the Cabinet or Cabinet Member, taking into account any comments received from the Scrutiny Committee.

In-depth review

Some reviews look at the working of policy or service throughout the entire district, while others will look at the impact of a policy or service on a specific sector of the community. The fundamental purpose of these reviews is to ascertain whether our Key Aims and outcomes are being achieved and what recommendations can be made to improve the policy or service. There are 3 stages to each review:

• Stage One - scoping - setting the background of the policy/service, highlighting any challenges which it is currently facing, placing it within the context of our Key Aims and outcomes and focusing on which organisations and individuals are best placed to make a valuable contribution to establishing the purpose of the review and a framework for the next stages.
• Stage Two - evidence gathering - the organisations and individuals identified in Stage One as best placed to make a valuable contribution to achieving the purpose of the review are invited to address the Scrutiny Committee. This feedback on the policy/service should stimulate thoughts on how any policy/service shortfalls can be resolved and what improvements could be implemented.
• Stage Three - recommendation - the Scrutiny Committee confirms recommendations to Cabinet for policy/service improvements based on knowledge/insights gleaned during the first two stages. The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee is then invited to present the recommendations to Cabinet, who must consider whether or not to accept the recommendations.

Downloadable file of key aims and outcomes can be found at the bottom of the page

Policy and budget development

Scrutiny Committees have a voice in every major policy and budget decision made at AVDC. The Committees have the opportunity to comment on the Cabinet's proposals before recommendations are made to the council.

One-off hot topic reviews

Similar to an in-depth review, but on a much smaller scale. Such issues are often those which do not fit within our ordinary decision making procedure or on which the council only has an advisory/consultative role.

Performance monitoring

Scrutiny Committees monitor our performance against targets. This role provides a firm platform for holding Cabinet Members to account.

Suggestions for Scrutiny

If you have a suggestion that you wish to put forward which you feel would merit review by Scrutiny then please use the downloadable form below.

Receipt of your suggestion will be acknowledged within 5 working days and we will let you know what will happen next.

Coming to a Scrutiny Committee meeting

We welcome public participation at meetings. If you are interested in attending a meeting and making a statement follow the link on this page to the Diary of meetings