Scrutiny and Petitions Board

Home > Services > Council and Government > Council > Council Boards

Access the scrutiny and petitions board agendas and minutes using this link: Agendas and Minutes.

More information about petitions is available on the petitions page.

The following shall comprise the areas of responsibility of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board:

General Delegations

1. To grant authority to members to attend seminars, conferences and other visits.

2. To refer issues relative to the operation of this Board to one or more of the Local Area Committees for their consideration/and or comment.

3. To consider issues referred to this Board by one or more of the Local Area Committees.


Audit Scrutiny

4. To consider reports by the Accounts Commission, Audit Scotland and other similar organisations and to make recommendations where appropriate to the Council.

5. To consider reports by the Council's external auditors and to submit recommendations to the Council.

6. To review the Council's internal audit strategy and plan.

7. To consider internal audit progress reports and annual report.

8. To review the Council's internal financial and other control mechanisms and to recommend action where appropriate.

Monitoring and Reviewing Service Delivery Performance, Policies and Practices

9. To review performance management arrangements across all services and to submit recommendations to the Council.

10. To review the budgetary control arrangements in respect of both revenue and capital expenditure programmes and to submit recommendations to the Council.

11. To review service delivery and performance across all services and to submit recommendations to the Council.

12. To conduct reviews into particular issues and/or policies at the request of the Leadership Board and/or Council. Such reviews shall only occur after a period of not less than 6 months has elapsed from the date of implementation of the policy.

13. To review decisions taken by the policy boards (other than those concerning quasi-judicial functions) and how they are implementing Council policy and to submit recommendations to the Leadership Board and/or Council. Such reviews shall only occur after a period of not less than 6 months has elapsed from the date of implementation of the policy.


Community Leadership Through Monitoring of Other Public Bodies Etc

14. To conduct reviews of issues of significance and/or concern to Renfrewshire which are not necessarily matters which are the responsibility of the Council.

15. To conduct reviews of the activities of other public bodies, including joint boards and joint committees in so far as they impact on Renfrewshire.

Standards and Ethics

16. To consider matters of policy relating to standards and ethics in relation to elected members, including the promotion of codes of conduct, but excluding consideration of allegations against a Councillor, as this will be dealt with by the Chief Investigating Officer and Standards Commission appointed by Scottish Ministers.

17. To consider guidance issued by the Standards Commission under section 6 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000 and to ensure the application of such guidance.

Written Intimations

18. To determine requests submitted by individual Scrutiny Board members for a particular matter to be considered which is within the terms of reference of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board.

Petitions

19. To consider petitions in accordance with the procedures agreed by the Council. The current procedures form and addendum to the guidelines for the
operation of the Scrutiny & Petitions Board.

More information about petitions is available on the petitions page.



Guidelines for Operation of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board

1. Guidelines

1.1 Membership

The Scrutiny and Petitions Board shall comprise 9members drawn from all the political parties represented on the Council having regard to the party balance on the Council. Members who are conveners of another Board or members of the Leadership Board may not be members of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board. Where a member of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board is also a depute convener and has specific responsibility for an issue being investigated by the Board, that member shall declare an interest and take no part in the Board’s deliberations on the issue.

back to top


1.2 Convener and Depute Convener

The Council shall appoint the convener and depute convener of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board who cannot both be from the same political party.

1.3 Secretariat

The director of corporate services shall provide the secretariat to the Scrutiny and Petitions Board.

1.4 Advisors

The director of corporate services shall appoint an officer to provide legal advice to the Scrutiny and Petitions Board as and when required.

The director of finance & information technology shall appoint an officer to provide financial advice to the Scrutiny and Petitions Board as and when required.

The chief executive shall appoint other officer advisers as required by the Scrutiny and Petitions Board for specific investigations including the appointment of a lead officer if this is deemed necessary. In certain cases, advisers may be appointed from external organisations.

1.5 Meetings

The Scrutiny and Petitions Board shall meet at least once in each cycle of meetings. Special meetings shall be arranged to deal with specific investigations as and when required.

Meetings of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board will be open to the press and public subject only to the requirements of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985. Therefore, given the intended broad remit of the Board, there will be occasions when the press and public will require to be excluded. Whilst meetings will normally be held within the HQ complex, the Board may decide to meet elsewhere, for example, if discussing an issue affecting a specific locality where it may be more appropriate to meet in a local hall or similar venue.


back to top


1.6 Functions

The Scrutiny and Petitions Board shall undertake the functions detailed in the terms of reference. In the majority of cases, the Scrutiny and Petitions Board will make recommendations to the Council following the completion of its investigations.

In view of the proposed range of its functions, the Scrutiny and Petitions Board could have different methods of operation depending on the particular issue involved. For example, as a traditional committee when considering routine reports: as an investigatory hearing when investigating specific issues; as an open forum when looking at issues of local significance/concern.

Certain areas of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board's remit will be dealt with by written submissions, for example, Ombudsman reports, external audit reports and performance management issues. The Scrutiny and Petitions Board may wish to question officers on the content of such reports and officers will be notified in advance of each meeting if they are required to attend.

In other cases, the Scrutiny and Petitions Board may wish to take evidence from both members and officers who will be notified in advance if they are required to attend. The Scrutiny and Petitions Board may also wish to take evidence from other organisations and/or individuals although attendance could not be insisted upon.

In taking evidence, whether from members, officers, outside agencies or the public, the Board members, and particularly the convener, should avoid confrontation. This is not to say that difficult questions cannot be asked but they should relate to the issue being investigated. Members and officers appearing before the Board should be ready to respond to proper questions without fear of recrimination or prejudice. Officers should not be questioned as to the validity or appropriateness of Council policy and such questions should be directed to members.

Where the Scrutiny and Petitions Board is reviewing a decision of a Policy Board, the convener of that Board should be questioned on all matters relating to the rationale behind the decision and should only refer technical/professional matters to officers.

The Scrutiny and Petitions Board should specify as precisely as possible the areas for investigation to ensure that witnesses are able to prepare their evidence. The Board may wish to issue set questions in advance and may elect to accept written submissions.

Should the Scrutiny and Petitions Board be monitoring other public bodies, it will have no authority to compel attendance and would rely, rather, on the co-operation of the bodies concerned. However, by concentrating on a desire to obtain positive outcomes from such scrutiny, it should be possible to secure co-operation. Rather than predetermine how such scrutiny should be progressed, it may be appropriate to arrange a meeting of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board with the senior executives/representatives of the other public bodies involved to agree procedures.

back to top



1.7 Party Whips

The party whip will not apply to meetings of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board.

1.8 Annual Programme

The Scrutiny and Petitions Board shall prepare an annual programme of activities which shall include consideration of routine reports as well as areas for specific investigations.

In addition, matters may also be referred by the Council or the Leadership Board to the Scrutiny and Petitions Board for investigation.

1.9 Written Intimation Procedure

Any member of the Board may submit a written intimation requesting that a particular matter be considered by the Board provided that it lies within the terms of reference of the Board, and must specify the reasons for the request. All written intimations must be submitted no later than 14 days prior to a meeting of the Board and shall be included in the agenda for that meeting, without prejudice to the right of the convener to rule as to their competence. The Board may agree:-

(i) that the matter be considered immediately
(ii) that the matter be considered as part of a future review
(iii) that the matter be referred to officers for investigation
(iv) that the matter be not considered.


1.10 Findings

The findings of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board may be made either via the minutes of each meeting and/or by specific reports to the Council. These reports will be prepared by the secretariat or the lead officer, as appropriate, for approval by the Scrutiny and Petitions Board prior to their submission to the next ordinary meeting of the Council. Minority or dissenting views shall be recorded either in the minutes or the reports as appropriate.


back to top


1.11 Confidentiality

It is likely that the Scrutiny and Petitions Board will have access to confidential and/or sensitive information and it must at all times respect that confidentiality in accordance with the requirements of the National Code of Local Government Conduct.

1.12 Role of the Convener/Depute-Convener

The convener or in his/her absence, the depute convener, shall be responsible for the conduct of meetings of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board.

1.13 Role of Members

Members of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board shall consider all matters objectively and impartially.

1.14 Role of Secretariat and Lead Officers

The secretariat will make the necessary administrative arrangements for meetings of the Scrutiny and Petitions Board and advise on matters of procedure. The secretariat or the relevant lead officer will prepare draft reports on behalf of the Board.


2. Terms of Reference

2.1 The following paragraphs clarify how particular elements of the terms of reference should be progressed.

Audit Scrutiny

In relation to paragraph 3 it is suggested that the Board should consider reports by the external auditors and submit recommendations to the Council where this is considered appropriate.

back to top


To ensure the integrity of the internal audit function, the annual internal audit strategy and plan is determined by the chief auditor in consultation with the chief executive and director of finance & information technology. The Scrutiny and Petitions Board will have an overview of the internal audit role and ensure that resources are being targeted effectively.

In relation to paragraph 6, it is suggested that the Board should review the Council's internal control mechanisms and to approve action where appropriate.

Monitoring and Reviewing Service Delivery; Performance; Policies and Practices
In relation to paragraph 7, it is envisaged that there will still be performance management reports to the relevant Policy Board. The Scrutiny and Petitions Board may select particular areas for investigation as part of its annual programme previously referred to. The Scrutiny and Petitions Board would make recommendations to the Council.

Similar arrangements would apply to the scrutiny of budgetary control referred to in paragraph 8. Policy Boards would continue to receive financial monitoring reports with the Scrutiny and Petitions Board being able to select particular areas for investigation.

In relation to paragraph 9, it is suggested that the Scrutiny and Petitions Board would consider Ombudsman reports issued after formal investigations and approve any action which may be required. The Scrutiny and Petitions Board would also receive the Ombudsman's annual report.

In relation to the scrutiny of service delivery and performance, in paragraph 9 it is suggested that the Scrutiny and Petitions Board would select particular areas for investigation as part of its annual programme.

Community Leadership Through Monitoring of Other Public Bodies etc

Paragraphs 12 and 13 are concerned with the community leadership role. However, the Council's role in such issues is not clear cut and requires to be considered carefully to ensure that the respective functions and responsibilities of other public bodies are not compromised. The Council, via the Scrutiny and Petitions Board, could provide the forum for an informed public debate on particular issues, although this will require to be done in consultation with the other bodies involved where possible to ensure the necessary degree of co-operation is provided.

back to top


Standards and Ethics

Paragraphs 14 - 15 are concerned with issues of standards and ethics specifically in relation to elected members. Any alleged contraventions of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000 would be referred for investigation to the Chief Investigating Officer and thereafter for consideration by the Standards Commission appointed by Scottish Ministers.




back to top