The Role of Scrutiny
Scrutiny works to ensure and promote open and transparent decision making and democratic accountability in Guildford by taking a look at the Council's decisions and policies. It has four main roles:
- Holding the Executive to account
Scrutiny ensures the decision making process is open and transparent by questioning those taking decisions (the Executive) and getting them to explain and justify the rationale behind decisions, in public.
- Policy development and review
Scrutiny ensures that back-bench councillors are involved and can influence and improve the Council's performance and approach to public services.
- External Scrutiny
Scrutiny enables councillors to fulfil their community leadership role by examining local services not provided by the Council, but which have an impact on the well being of Borough residents.
- Adding value
By being actively involved at the earliest possible stage on issues that are a priority to the Council, scrutiny can assist in ensuring that policies and services are delivering on the targets set by the Council.
Scrutiny in Guildford Borough
The Council has appointed two Scrutiny Committees to undertake the overview and scrutiny of the Council's decision-making processes.
The committees are responsible for setting their own work programmes and will also consider matters which have been the subject of the Council's "call-in" procedure. Each committee meets every six weeks and consists of 15 Members each.
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The Community and Health Scrutiny Committee consists of 15 councillors that consider corporate matters including customer access,budget strategy, resources, partnerships, community safety, healthy living, communications, procurement, projects and performance, health and safety at work, food safety, cemeteries and crematorium together with arts, parks and countryside. The chairman of the Committee is Councillor Tony Phillips. |
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The Environment and Housing Scrutiny Committee consists of 15 councillors and considers environmental issues such as waste collection and recycling, planning policy, economic development, energy, urban regeneration, street cleansing, traffic management, car parking, housing strategy, homelessness and housing advice, community care and aids and adaptations for the disabled.The chairman of the Committee is Councillor Nick Sutcliffe. |
Membership of the two Scrutiny Committees can be viewed on the councillor database.
Agendas and minutes for the meetings of each of the Scrutiny Committees can be viewed via the links below:
Getting involved in Scrutiny
During the course of the year, Scrutiny Committees consider a number of items at their meetings, some of which become the focus of further investigation. Investigations previously undertaken can be found on the Scrutiny Committee investigations page.
When a committee selects a topic of enquiry, it encourages written submissions from the public, as well as inviting partners, stakeholders or other interested parties to contribute. Written evidence is particularly welcomed by the committees as the outcome of reviews will often depend on the quality of the evidence submitted. In addition, Scrutiny Committees will often invite individuals or organisations to give evidence in person at their meetings. This gives the committee a chance to discuss issues first hand with the experts or to allow witnesses to elaborate on written evidence.
If you wish to come along to a meeting to speak in relation to a particular item on the agenda then you may apply to the Head of Legal & Democratic Services for permission to speak at the meeting. Advice on the procedures can be found in the guide to addressing a Committee meeting and maps are available to direct you to the council offices where the meetings are held.
Topics for Future Scrutiny Investigation
The public are very much encouraged to become involved in the work of the Scrutiny Committees. If you have a suggestion for the topic of a future Scrutiny Committee investigation, we would be pleased to hear from you. All suggestions will be considered on their merits and feasibility. Please complete the investigation suggestion form.