Councillors who are not members of the cabinet contribute to the running of the County Council by scrutinising decisions and reviewing policies. Read more about scrutiny.

Latest scrutiny news

New powers to help communities resolve local problems

Communities are to be given a powerful new way to fix local problems under new proposals to strengthen the ability of councils to scrutinise local public services.

A new Private Members Bill , backed by the Government, will give every resident the right to hold local service providers to account through their elected representatives on all issues of local concern: like dug up roads, poor facilities at train stations, or threatened local bus routes.

The proposed new powers mean councils could legally compel organisations to attend public scrutiny hearings to justify their actions and respond in full to recommendations made by the councils to resolve the problem.  This sweeps away the need to rely solely on the voluntary co-operation of organisations when addressing local concerns.

The Bill will complete the scrutiny arrangements so that all significant local public service spending can be covered by scrutiny and could mean service providers being held to account on a range of issues.

Review looks at alternative heating for council buidlings

A small review group of councillors is looking at introducing biomass boilers into council buildings.

Instead of using environmentally damaging fossil fuels, biomass boilers burn wood chip, wood pellet or cereals or a combination of fuels. This produces heat for central heating systems and hot water and helps to counter the impacts of climate change.

The report should be published in March.

Review group looks at proposed shake-up of health services in Newark

A Review Group - made up of members from the Health & Wellbeing Standing Committee - is considering proposals for future health services for Newark.

Proposals from NHS Nottinghamshire County include replacing the accident and emergency department in a major shake-up of health provision in the town.

Newark hospital has no intensive care beds, 24-hour anaesthetics cover, or access to major surgical facilities, which means many emergency patients already have to be transferred by ambulance because their injuries can't be treated.

NHS Nottinghamshire County is now consulting on options to replace Accident & Emergency with a minor injuries unit staffed either by GPs or specially trained nurses with more community care services, outpatient clinics and GPs.

Specialist centres for stroke, heart attack and trauma are all expected to be based in Nottingham in a move towards offering patients the best specialist care in a smaller number of centres. However, the proposed changes to urgent care should make no difference to the number of patients treated in Newark.

The Review Group will consider whether the Trust has taken into account the public interest through appropriate patient and public involvement and consultation, and whether the proposals are in the interests of the local health service.

The public consultation on the plans runs until March 6.

New Scrutiny Review to consider access to GPs

A small working group of members from the Health & Wellbeing Committee are to carry out a review into health inequalities and access to GPs.
The review will examine issues relating to access to GP services and consider if there is a relationship between access and health inequalities.
The review will consider whether surgeries are applying good practice when managing appointments and examine if patient perception of poor service is valid.
Although there are significant improvements in terms of health for the county as a whole, Mansfield, Ashfield, Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood are all falling behind the average for the rest of England in terms of life expectancy.

Overview Committee calls for more scrutiny funding

The Overview Committee has welcomed government proposals to enhance the powers of overview and scrutiny, but believes that adequate resources are crucial to carry out effective scrutiny.

In responding to the Strengthening Local Democracy consultation by the Communities & Local Government Department, members of the overview committee welcomed increased responsibility to influence local decision making.

The committee also strongly supports the implementation of additional powers suggested in the consultation to enable members to represent and champion the needs of the community.

‘We are constantly looking to introduce new ways of involving the public in the work of overview and scrutiny,’ Councillor Joyce Bosnjak, Chair of the Overview Committee, said.

‘We would also like to see improved communications so that service providers are aware of the expectations on them to co-operate with overview and scrutiny,’ Councillor Bosnjak added.

The Committee believes that any organisation that provides or commissions services should be called before a scrutiny committee where local people have a concern with the services they provide.

A response to the consultation setting out proposed next steps will be published at the end of the year.

New scrutiny review to consider apprenticeships

A working group of members is to look at apprenticeships in the county.

The review will examine current provision of apprenticeships - including the County Council - and consider if current places meet demand. It will also identify how young people are encouraged to use the apprenticeship route, to gain the necessary skills for employment.

More than 30 employers provide over 2,000 apprenticeships every year in Nottinghamshire - the highest in the region.

New Scrutiny review to look at highway maintenance

Members of the Communities and Environment Committee are to examine highway maintenance - in response to local concerns about road and footpath repairs.

The review will look to ensure better value for money and good practice in the repair of roads, by considering how the authority deals with reported problems and complaints and how repair work is prioritised.

The highway network is a crucial part of the local infrastructure affecting all communities. A higher volume of traffic and heavier vehicles, means more wear and tear on the roads with damage often caused by accidents, misuse and the effects of the weather.

Roads and footways are also affected by how utility companies - such as the electricity, gas, water and telecommunications companies - install, renew or repair their underground services. The review will also consider reinstatment issues, such as compensation and the cost of claims against utility companies.

The Communities and Environment Committee – chaired by Councillor Sue Saddington – is responsible for monitoring and influencing the development of communities, highways and the environment across the county.

The review is expected to last six months.

The County council is responsible for a highway network of:

• Over 4200 kilometres (2625miles) of road, of which 2600 kilometres (1625 miles) are in built up areas;
• Over 5400 kilometres (3375 miles) of footways;
• Over 4100 kilometres (2560 miles) of verges;
• Over 6000 kilometres (3750 miles) of kerbing.
• This represents a total investment of about £3200m

Residents can report a problem on one of Nottinghamshire's roads by using a report a road problem form.

Expansion of radiotherapy services ‘disappointing’

Members of the Health & Wellbeing Committee have expressed disappointment at a decision not to expand radiotherapy services to Kings Mill Hospital.

Two additional radiotherapy machines will now be located at the City Hospital, with an expected saving of £1.5m by further centralising cancer services in Nottingham.

The decision – taken by NHS Nottinghamshire County – has angered residents in Ashfield and Mansfield and a petition of 19,309 signatories was presented to the Trust Board at a meeting on 23 July 2009.

However, a decision has now been agreed and members of the committee expressed concern at the travelling severely ill patients will have to make from the north of the county and have asked to see more detailed proposals.

The new Health and Wellbeing standing committee – chaired by Councillor Ged Clarke - will scrutinise adult social care, health and children's services across the county, with reviews of services carried out by smaller groups of councillors.

New look for scrutiny

Scrutiny in Nottinghamshire is set to change. The Overview Committee - chaired by Councillor Joyce Bosnjak - will co-ordinate the programme of scrutiny work.

But the most visible difference will be three new 'standing' scrutiny committees which will allow members to develop expertise and knowledge of services in a particular area, with scrutiny reviews carried out in smaller groups.

And the new statutory Councillor Call for Action means that any member of the County Council will be able to put forward a topic for scrutiny to the overview committee.