THE GROUP FOR SOLICITORS
WITH DISABILITIES

The Centre for Public Scrutiny

The Centre for Public Scrutiny was set up to promote the value of scrutiny in modern and effective government - not only to hold executives to account but also to create a constructive dialogue between the public and its elected representatives - to improve the quality of public services.

We have established four principles which propose that effective scrutiny:

Scrutiny in local government is about councillors working together with local people, businesses, service partners and community groups to improve policies and services. All local authorities will have scrutiny committees which meet in public and have a role in checking the decisions of the Council’s Cabinet (Executive), conducting reviews and assisting in policy development.

For example in Suffolk, the Scrutiny Management Board held a meeting to check that the County Council's process of involving disabled people in producing a Disability Equality Scheme had met their expectations.

Witnesses from disability groups were invited to attend, including disabled people with a range of impairments. Arrangements were made to facilitate their active involvement including preparation of papers in ‘easy to read’ format, a support worker and British Sign Language Interpreters. The witnesses affirmed that they felt their involvement in the development of the disability equality scheme had been worthwhile, and that their views and opinions were listened to and generally reflected in the scheme.

Scrutiny reviews involve looking at an issue in detail, searching out best practice in other councils and similar organisations and coming up with ideas for improvements and change. The role of a review is not simply to criticise, but rather to get under the skin of issues, develop an understanding of them and recommend ways in which they could be changed to improve the way the council serves the community.

When undertaking reviews councillors will want to ensure that equalities issues are mainstreamed through their work.  Scrutiny reviews will often look for members with expertise to co-opt onto review groups.  Or they may want expert witnesses to give evidence to the review group. 

When Staffordshire Moorlands District Council looked at bus services in the area, it asked local disability groups for their advice.  Following the review the council has agreed to ensure there is an effective forum for disability groups, bus operators, transport planners, and community transport groups to meet regularly to discuss access issues and problems, find solutions and monitor progress.

There are also specific legal duties on local authorities to ensure that they do not discriminate on grounds of race, gender or disability and that they promote equality. Councils have had a duty to produce a race equality scheme under the Race Relations Amendment Act since 2001, enforceable since 2002. In December 2006 the new Disability Equality Duty came into force, followed in April 2007 by the new Gender Equality Duty. These duties place challenges on authorities to ensure equalities issues are fully taken into account in service delivery as well as in their internal operational policies.

The 2006 Local Government White Paper and Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill propose an extension of scrutiny powers to hold other public bodies to account. This, combined with the Equalities Duties and a focus on local authorities’ duties in relation to community cohesion, means that investigating concerns about the equalities aspects of local public service delivery could form a major part of scrutiny’s agenda from 2007 onwards.

We hope that members of GSD will use the opportunity given by scrutiny to get involved in shaping policies in their local areas whether by getting involved in review groups or by helping to monitor Disability Equality Schemes. The expertise which you have would be invaluable to scrutiny bodies whether as expert witnesses or as regular co-opted members of scrutiny committees

To give you more ideas about the work involved, you may want to look at “Equal to the Task: how overview and scrutiny can help local authorities meet their equalities duties.”, a joint publication by the Centre for the Public Scrutiny with the Disability Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality which is available as a free download from www.cfps.org.uk

Sioned-Mair Richards
Research & Information Officer
Centre for Public Scrutiny

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