Scrutiny at Coventry City Council

The Local Government Act 2000 set up an executive system of decision making, in which up to 10 Councillors are selected to be portfolio holders, to lead the Council and take the majority of the decisions.

Other Councillors sit on Scrutiny Boards which provide a check on the power of the Executive, holding the portfolio holders, or decision makers, to account.

However, this is just one element of effective scrutiny. Scrutiny Boards can also make an impact by:

• contributing to policy development
• reviewing services of the Council
• ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the Council
• conducting reviews of public bodies that are external to the Council, particularly matters relating to health and crime and disorder and carry out joint work with partners during the review process

The scrutiny process was designed to increase transparency and accountability. Papers are available to view and anyone is welcome to attend the meetings which are open to the public (unless an item is exempt under a specific criteria). The scrutiny process benefits from the involvement of members of the public. You can get involved in various ways, for example by suggesting a topic for scrutiny, giving evidence at a meeting or perhaps hosting a site visit.

Coventry currently has six Scrutiny Boards - to find out more information on a specific Board, follow the links below:

Meeting dates and membership of the Boards is available on the CMIS system and you can find information and guidance on attending Scrutiny Boards on our "Get Involved" page.