Annual Scrutiny Report
When the government made changes to the way local Councils were set up, bringing in the Cabinet system, Scrutiny was also introduced as a way to hold the Cabinet to account; to be a check and a balance. Over the years, Scrutiny has developed a number of other roles and in Horsham we have been focusing very much on how we can add value for local residents by viewing issues that matter to them and making recommendations to Cabinet and Council for improvement. Examples of these reviews are included in this Annual Report - I hope that you will be able to see how and where we have made a positive impact. I fully believe that there is no point in Scrutiny getting involved if there is no way in which we can make a difference for local residents – to do so would just waste our time and that of those who come to our meetings to give evidence.
Scrutiny at Horsham District Council is not by any means perfect and we still have much on which we can improve. One key area that we are currently working on is how we can be more involved in policy development – influencing Cabinet so that the Council’s policy making is improved.
I hope that you find this report informative and useful and that it will inspire you to suggest other items for our consideration or to offer yourself as a witness for one of our reviews. If it does, then please get in touch with the Scrutiny and Committee Support Officer at Horsham District Council, Democratic Services Department on 01403 215138.
Councillor David Sheldon
Chairman of Scrutiny and Overview
May 2012