Overview and Scrutiny
The remit of Overview and Scrutiny is to
improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in local
government, the Local Government Act 2000 introduced major changes
to the way Councils make decisions. This Act requires Councils to
implement new political structures which involved two distinct
roles; Executive and Overview and Scrutiny. An Executive is
responsible for taking key decisions about services. To balance the
Executive's powers, Overview and Scrutiny Committees are
responsible for holding the Executive to account and making sure
the best decisions are taken for Bedford Borough. They also
contribute to policy review and development.
The aim of Overview and Scrutiny at Bedford
Borough Council is to ensure that the best services are delivered
to local people in line with our agreed vision for the Borough. At
Bedford this is done by:
- Looking at the decisions of the Executive, and
where necessary questioning decisions taken or decisions to be
taken;
- Carrying out issue-based policy reviews
investigating a particular service or local issue and making
recommendations to the Executive and/or the Council;
- Contributing to the Council's major policy
documents;
- Scrutinising Council budgets;
- Looking at the Council's performance
information, such as performance indicators and results of public
opinion surveys.