Overview and Scrutiny as a Dialogue of Accountability for Democratic Local Government
| Published date | 01 September 2006 |
| Author | Jane Martin |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670602100305 |
| Date | 01 September 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
56
Overview
and
Scrutiny
as
a
Dialogue
of
Accountability
for
Democratic
Local
Government
Jane
Martin
University
of
Warwick
Abstract
The
Local
Government
Act
2000
established
a
new
set
of
political
arrangements
across
England
and
Wales
which
included,
for
the
first
time,
a
distinct,
separate
overview
and
scrutiny
function
with
the
statutory
duty
to
’hold
the
executive
to
account’.
This
paper
will
explore
the
potential
and
limits
of the
overview
and
scrutiny
function
as
a
mechanism for
public
accountability
in
local
government.
It
will
be
argued
that
effective
processes
of
public
scrutiny
(as
mechanisms for
public
accountability)
are
an
essential
component
of
good
local
governance
with
the
potential
to
reconnect
local
citizens
and
the
state
within
modernised forms
of
representative
democracy.
Reflecting
current
policy
debates,
it
will
be
suggested
that
the
future
role
of
the
local
authority,
as
the
democratically
elected
local
tier
of
government,
should
be
to
create
the
conditions
for
public
accountability
in
local
governance
and
support
officers
and
members
engaged
in
public
scrutiny.
Introduction
The
overview
and
scrutiny
function
in
local
government
is
proving
to
be
an
interesting
example
of
public
accountability
in
a
new
institutional
environment.
Designed
into
modernised
political
management
arrangements
in
local
government
to
bring
about
more
robust
public
accountability,
it
raised
expectations
and
was
seen
as a
function
with
much
potential
for
reconnecting
citizens
to
local
government
through
their
elected
representatives
with
a
focus
on
local
issues
of
concern.
In
practice
there
are
still
tensions
and
dilemmas
about
how
best
to
conduct
scrutiny
in
order
to
activate
engagement
and
ensure
robust
accountability.
Six
years
after
it
was
introduced,
this
paper
reflects
on
current
practice,
future
potential
and
the
limits
of
the
function
and
suggests
that
the
dominant
activity
of
the
scrutiny
review
presents
opportunities
for
a
new
’dialogue
of
accountability’
between
citizens,
elected
representatives
and
local
government.
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