Don't skimp on scrutiny

摘要

Ten pages of the Localism Act specify how councils - other than those governed by committees -should run overview and scrutiny.Ministers have given a strong endorsement of the importance of the function. Baroness Hanham, parliamentary undersecretary at the DCLG, has said that, with greater localisation, 'local accountability becomes even more important', hence the importance of local scrutiny.Paul Rowsell, head of the local government division, speaking at an INLOGOV seminar on the Localism Act, spoke of scrutiny as 'a key tool... for shaping local decisions, for influencing councils' decision making'.