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Suggest a topic for a scrutiny review 2023

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This engagement has now closed.


Background

The council agreed on 26 July 2022 to review the Councils governance arrangements with a view to implement an Executive system of Governance from May 2023. Following this decision the council also undertook a consultation on public participation at council meetings, and the feedback from the consultation showed support for enabling participation in scrutiny. The new Executive system of Governance will include the established of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Task and Finish Groups.

The role of Overview and Scrutiny is to review performance and examine the decisions of the Executive from a non party-political perspective, and to conduct


Background

The council agreed on 26 July 2022 to review the Councils governance arrangements with a view to implement an Executive system of Governance from May 2023. Following this decision the council also undertook a consultation on public participation at council meetings, and the feedback from the consultation showed support for enabling participation in scrutiny. The new Executive system of Governance will include the established of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Task and Finish Groups.

The role of Overview and Scrutiny is to review performance and examine the decisions of the Executive from a non party-political perspective, and to conduct in–depth investigations into key issues when necessary. Overview and Scrutiny has powers to scrutinise the services not only provided by the Council but also by partner public service organisations e.g. the NHS, police or housing associations, as they too have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the population. Input from local people and organisations is a crucial part of the scrutiny review process, so we want to hear from you.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committees are seeking suggestions from residents and other local stakeholders on topics that would benefit from scrutiny involvement. All suggestions are considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the beginning of the municipal year (May to June) and those agreed form part of the work programme for the year ahead.


What are we seeking your views on:

In this consultation we want to hear from you, our local residents and businesses. If you live, work or study in Barnet, Overview & Scrutiny would really like to hear your suggestions which can be considered for inclusion in this year's scrutiny commissions work programme.

The Overview and Scrutiny Commissions welcome suggestions for scrutiny on;

  • Local issues which are important to you and the wider local community
  • Local services which really matter to you, your family or the wider community which you think could/ should be improved.

Overview & Scrutiny is able to investigate a wide range of local issues and Your feedback will give the councillors insight into the views of the local community and other stakeholders and will help to identify areas of concern. The work the Commissions carry out each year then helps shape local services and contributes to the policy objectives of the Council.


How to have your say:

Complete our online questionnaire.

We are keen to hear your views on topics that Overview and Scrutiny should review. We encourage you to have your say by completing our online questionnaire.

If you would like to request a paper questionnaire or another format please email scrutiny@barnet.gov.uk

If you would like someone to help you complete the questionnaire or need more information, please contact us using the above method.


What happens after the consultation closes?

The council will review the consultation findings and the topics that are agreed form part of the work programme for the year ahead.

We will publish the topics that are agreed on this web page and the Scrutiny webpage in June 2023.


This engagement has now closed.

  • We asked, you said, we did

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    We asked

    We asked residents and local stakeholders to suggest local topics that would benefit from scrutiny involvement. All suggestions would be considered by councillors and selected topics would form part of the work programme for the year ahead. The consultation ran for five weeks.

    You said

    We received 58 topic suggestions from 22 participants to the online questionnaire. All of the respondents are Barnet residents. Feedback came from across the borough covering over 50% of wards. 57% of respondents were aged between 25-64 with 24% stating they have a disability.

    We did

    Road maintenance and NHS services emerged as the most popular topics from the survey.

    Councillors considered your suggestions at the Full Council meeting 11 July 2023. It was agreed that the Overview and Scrutiny committee will undertake a task and finish group to review road and pavement maintenance including future investment options. This will involve councillors looking at the way the service is currently run, speaking to council officers, looking at best examples of services from around the country and speaking to experts. The councillors will then make recommendations on how services can be improved.

    You also raised concerns about GP appointments including use of out of hours services. You also want councillors to look at the process of well-planned discharge from the hospital to their homes along with the support patients need to live independently. The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee will undertake a task and finish group to review these issues, working closely with NHS colleagues and will hold focus groups with service users.