Overview and scrutiny

The Local Government Act 2000 requires councils to create political structures which involve two distinct roles - Executive and Overview and Scrutiny. The 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.

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

Overview and Scrutiny Committees

The Overview and Scrutiny Committees do not have decision-making powers, but are able to make recommendations to the Executive, Council and other local partners about decisions, services and issues of local concern.

We have six Overview and Scrutiny Committees. Follow the links to view each committee’s schedule of meetings, agendas and minutes:

• Adult Services
• Children’s Services
• Budget and Corporate Services
• Environment and Sustainable Communities
• Health
• Universal Destinations and Experiences