Scrutiny Annual Report (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

Scrutiny Annual Report

June 15, 2010 12:00 AM
By Cllr Zoe Patrick in County Council

I was disappointed to see this very thin report to this Council meeting, which actually tells us very little about the work of the scrutiny committees. In the past we have received a full booklet showing us what each committee has been working on. One could be excused for thinking that nothing very much has happened at all. In the 9 pages which have been produced here, we must ask what has been scrutinised.

The headings of the report refer to the Corporate Plan and Council priorities and so I found it strange to discover some of the work of the Childrens Scrutiny committee for example under World Class Economy. There was no mention of the call in regarding the Oxford Academy - although later in the report there is mention under Environment and Climate Change about the call in on the incinerator!

I was surprised to see that the transfer of Cogges Museum ran "as smoothly as possible". This Trust, despite our questioning at the last Cabinet meeting, has still not produced its business case as far as I am aware and yet we hear from a member of the public that the animals were slaughtered or sold off and there is very little left of what was the original museum - hardly "running smoothly"!

I found very little mention of the Adult Services Scrutiny Committee and the Strategy and Partnerships Committee; both have large agendas but according to this report nothing much to mention.

So in short, this report does not give me much confidence in the scrutiny process. If it were not for the two call ins then apparently there would have been no challenge to the Cabinet here. Despite what Cllr. Mitchell believes as he quotes in his foreword 'we welcome the independent challenge that scrutiny provides' - there is little evidence in this report that this challenge actually happens.