Council Constitution

Part 2 - Articles of the Constitution

Article 7 - Scrutiny Panels

7.1 Terms of Reference

The Council will appoint the Panels set out in Section 7.7 below to discharge the functions conferred by Sections 21 of the Local Government Act 2000 and Regulations made under Section 32 of the Act and subsequent Acts and Regulations conferring additional or ameded powers on Scrutiny Panel.

7.2 General Role

With the terms of reference, Scrutiny Panels will:-

1. review and scrutinise decisions made or actions taken in connection with the discharge of any of the Council’s Executive functions;
2. make requests or recommendations to the Full Council and/or the Executive and/or any District Assembly or joint committee in connection with the discharge of any Executive functions in accordance with the Council’s Call In Procedure (Part 4(f));
3. consider any matter affecting the area or its inhabitants;
4. exercise the right to call in for reconsideration, executive decisions made but not yet implemented by the Executive and/or any District Assembly; and
5. examine whether the Council is meeting its objectives set through the budget and policies and if this is not so suggest ways in which the Council may achieve this

Scrutiny Panels will not consider any matter relating to standards of behaviour conduct, ethics and probity, directly or indirectly involving any Member or Officer of the Council. Such matters are to be referred immediately to the Monitoring Officer, who will prepare a report for the Standards Committee or Standards Board for England where appropriate.

Scrutiny Panels cannot consider any matters that are the responsibility of the Speakers Panels, nor scrutinise any decision made by the Speakers Panels.

Any disputes about a Scrutiny Panel’s right to consider a matter will be referred to the Monitoring Officer (see Article 9.1.3).

7.3 Conflicts of Interest - Membership of District Assemblies and Scrutiny Panels

When a Councillor is a Member of a Scrutiny Panel that is considering a decision/proposal made by the District Assembly on which s/he is a Member, the Councillor may not speak or vote, unless a dispensation to do so is given by the Standards Committee.

7.4 Specific Functions

These are set out in the Terms of Reference for each Panel.

7.5 Proceedings of Scrutiny Panels

Panels will conduct their proceedings in accordance with the Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Part 4(g)).

7.6 Whipping

The Whip will not apply from any of the political groups on their respective Members on the Panel while they are taking part in Panel business.

Each political group shall present to the Chief Executive, each Municipal Year, a statement that demonstrates the necessary freedom of its Members from the whipping process on Scrutiny Panels.

No political meetings of Scrutiny Panel Members shall take place.

Each Member of the Panel will act in accord with protocols and guidance that the Council may determine.

7.7 Scrutiny Panels

The Council will appoint the following Panels;

• Resources and Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Panel
• Technical, Economic and Environmental Services Scrutiny Panel
• Personal and Health Services Scrutiny Panel
• Services for Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel

The Services for Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel shall undertake the scrutiny function in relation to:

1. education matters set out in Section 499 of the Education Act 1996 (as amended by Section 9 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998).
2. matters relating to the Children Act 2004 and ‘Every Child Matters’

The Services for Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel will include up to six non elected voting Members as follows:-

• Church of England representative
• Roman Catholic Church representative
• Two representatives appointed by The Third Coalition Interfaith Network (neither of whom shall be from the Church of England or Roman Catholic Church)
• Two parent governor representatives.

That pursuant to Section 8 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001, the Greater Manchester Health Joint Scrutiny Panel undertakes the scrutiny of strategic conurbation wide and cross-boundary health services in respect of the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority; Greater Manchester Ambulance Service; Christies Hospital; Greater Manchester Workforce Federation; and Specialist Childrens’ Services provided by the Greater Manchester Trust and any other Greater Manchester wide health activities which may be established in the future, and that the Council appoints one representative to serve as a Member of that Scrutiny Panel.