Executive Summary

There is a Scrutiny Committee and three Select Committees which together constitute the Council's overview and scrutiny arrangements pursuant to section 21 of the Local Government Act 2000.

The Scrutiny Committee monitors the decisions made by the Cabinet, officers making executive decisions on delegated authority and other decisions. The Scrutiny Committee can 'call-in' a decision which has been made by the Cabinet but not yet implemented.

This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the decision maker reconsiders the decision.

The Select Committees develop policies and advise the Council or Cabinet on forthcoming decisions. The Select Committees discharge this function through requiring reports to be produced for their consideration, commissioning further work as necessary and reporting to Cabinet and Council. The Select Committees may carry out elements of "scrutiny" in so far as it relates to developing policy, by considering what has worked well, or less well, in the past.

The Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee includes both County and District Councillors and has powers to scrutinise National Health Service bodies in Norfolk. The role and powers exercised by the Norfolk Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee are detailed in Appendix 2A.