What is Overview and Scrutiny?

Those who exercise executive power, and spend public money, should expect to be held to account for what they do.  And of course they are, in a whole variety of ways and by all sorts of people.

Dr Tony Wright MP, Chair, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee and Chair, Centre for Public Scrutiny

Our communities have many different interests and concerns and Overview and Scrutiny provides the opportunity to look in detail at a wide range of issues and engage with people who often have little direct contact.  

Overview and Scrutiny Committees at Hertsmere aim to improve the services that you use by monitoring the work of the Council, making recommendations on the way services are provided and engaging with the public on issues of local concern.  They investigate issues which affect people who live and work in Hertsmere, or who use any of the services provided by the Council, and can review and scrutinise decisions made by the Executive. 

They play a vital role in the decision-making and policy development processes at Hertsmere Borough Council.

To achieve this vision, Overview and Scrutiny will:

• Be a Member-led and owned process
• Engage and reflect the voices and concerns of the public
• Provide ‘critical friend’ challenge to the Executive, policy makers and decision makers
• Drive improvement in public services

Hertsmere Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny function consists of 3 committees:

Overview and Performance Committee

The Overview and Performance Committee is one of the Council’s three Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committees whose role is to scrutinise the decisions and performance of the Executive and the Council as a whole and to undertake policy development and review work.  The O&S Committees consist of two subject-specific Scrutiny Committees who carry out the majority of the review work, and the Overview and Performance Committee which co-ordinates the workload.
 
The Overview and Performance Committee has an overarching role over the O&S function.  The Committee sets the work programme for O&S and receives updates from the Chairmen of the two scrutiny committees.  In addition, the Overview and Performance Committee undertakes financial and performance monitoring, and has the following specific responsibilities within its remit:  Community Strategy, Corporate Strategy, Financial Strategy, Risk Management and Efficiency.

Resources Scrutiny Committee 

The Resources Scrutiny Committee is one of the Council’s three Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committees whose role is to scrutinise the decisions and performance of the Executive and the Council as a whole and to undertake policy development and review work. 
 
The Resources Committee’s specific responsibilities include the following areas of the Council’s business: Community Safety; Estates Management; Council-owned Property; Customer Services; Communications; Grants; Community Services; Cultural and Leisure Services; Human Resources; and Finance and Information Services.

Environment Scrutiny Committee 

The Environment Scrutiny Committee is one of the Council’s three Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committees whose role is to scrutinise the decisions and performance of the Executive and the Council as a whole and to undertake policy development and review work. 
 
The Environment Scrutiny Committee’s specific responsibilities include the following areas of the Council’s business: Housing; Planning; Waste and Recycling; Transport Policy; Environmental Health; and Parks & Open Spaces.