Strengthening public engagement, oversight and efficiency

We're proposing changes to strengthen the role of our overview and scrutiny committees and improve opportunities for public involvement in decision-making.

From this autumn, the number of overview and scrutiny task and finish panels that can run at any one time will increase from 1 to 2. 

This change will allow our committees to explore more issues in depth and respond more flexibly to emerging priorities.

To encourage and increase public engagement in overview and scrutiny, and to reflect the key role that we want our committees to play in our decision-making process, the deadline for submitting public questions will be extended to 4 working days before the meeting, rather than the current 8. 

This new deadline will enable questions to be submitted after the agenda has been published, allowing residents to respond directly to the issues being discussed.

We're also clarifying the criteria for convening special meetings of Full Council. These will be granted where an item is time-sensitive and cannot reasonably wait until the next scheduled Full Council meeting. 

While this principle is already implied in our governance arrangements this clarification is designed to ensure that our resources are used efficiently while maintaining transparency and accountability.

Making scrutiny more agile and accessible

Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “Our move to a new governance system last year was driven by a desire for our council to be more accountable and responsive to residents and to take better informed decisions. 

“These latest changes build on that work and are about making scrutiny more agile and accessible. 

“We want to empower residents to engage with the democratic process and ensure that the council is responsive, transparent and focused on the issues that matter most to our communities.”

Learning council with well-run services

These proposals align with the commitments in the Council Plan 2023–2027 to ensure Brighton & Hove is a learning council with well-run services. 

They support good governance and ways of working that meet the needs of staff, residents and customers, with a focus on effective resource management, value for money and making the best use of council assets.