Guidance for Witnesses
One important new feature of the new Constitution is that the Council now has a Leader and a Cabinet. The Cabinet consists of ten Councillors. The Cabinet is the major decision-making body of the Council. It determines policy and makes the important decisions.
As a balance to the operation of the Cabinet, the Council has an Overview and Scrutiny Committee. This consists of all the Members not on the Cabinet (with the exception of the Chairman of the Council). The role of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee is to ‘hold the Executive to account’. This is pursued in a positive way to assist the Cabinet in seeking continuous improvement in the way in which the Council provides its services. This can involve input into emerging Council policies or looking at specific decisions made by the Cabinet to provide reassurance to the public that they have been thoroughly considered.
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has five Sub-Committees which are aligned to the Council’s objectives, together with a Scrutiny Sub-Committee for Health, which includes District Council representation.
The majority of detailed work is carried out by the Sub-Committees who normally appoint a smaller group to carry out investigations and scrutinise issues in some depth. One important element of scrutiny is to ensure appropriate input from members of the public (stakeholders) who are recipients of the Council’s services.
Witness Procedures
If a witness is called to assist a Scrutiny Group with a project, an explanation will be given about the nature of the project and the role expected from the witness.Evidence is taken orally but it is often helpful to have a written statement where this is possible. In this way, witnesses can be assured that the views they wish to express are accurately recorded. Any written evidence can be available to the public. Where evidence is to be submitted confidentially, this should be mentioned to the Scrutiny Officers.
The aim of the process will be to deal with any witnesses courteously and in a positive way. Witnesses will be provided with a copy of the final report produced by the Scrutiny Group. Witnesses may well be asked after the process is completed whether they have any comments about the process and the way they have been treated.
