A briefing note on rises in council tax for 2021-22, for the Opposition Day debate scheduled for Monday 25 January 2021
Documents to download
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Overview and Scrutiny in Local Government (202 KB, PDF)
Overview and scrutiny committees were established in English and Welsh local authorities by the Local Government Act 2000. They were intended as a counterweight to the new executive structures created by that Act (elected mayors or leaders and cabinets). Their role was to develop and review policy and make recommendations to the council.
Today, the legislative provisions for overview and scrutiny committees for England can be found in the Localism Act 2011. Those for Wales are in the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, and those for Northern Ireland are in the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014. There are no legislative provisions for overview and scrutiny in Scotland, though many Scottish local authorities do operate scrutiny committees alongside executive structures.
Local authorities also manage processes of ‘external scrutiny’, where their committees look at issues which lie outside the council’s responsibilities. In England, specific powers exist to scrutinise health bodies, community safety partnerships, and Police and Crime Commissioners. Combined authorities are also required to establish overview and scrutiny committees.
Documents to download
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Overview and Scrutiny in Local Government (202 KB, PDF)
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A Commons Library briefing on the financial resilience of local authorities.
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A House of Commons Library Briefing Paper on plastic waste in the UK, including statistics on plastic waste and information on UK Government and devolved Government plans and ambitions to reduce avoidable plastic waste and examples of voluntary initiatives from the plastics industry, environmental groups and retailers.
